The mage of the storm
by ol-11jrw
Summary: Lyanna Stark was born two years earlier and already married to Robert by the time of the tourney at Harrenhall. When Rhaegar 'kidnapped' Lyanna, neither of them knew that she was already pregnant with the Mistress of Death. Fem Harry. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Game of Thrones.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Lyanna Stark was born two years earlier and already married to Robert by the time of the tourney at Harrenhall. When Rhaegar 'kidnapped' Lyanna, neither of them knew that she was already pregnant with the Mistress of Death. Fem Harry. R+L= Jon it does NOT equal fem Harry.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Game of Thrones.**

 **Prologue**

Eddard Stark, known as Ned to his friends, rode through the deserts of Dorne, desperately trying to find his sister, Robert's wife and now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, with his trusted friends and bannermen; Howland Reed, Willam Dustin, Ethan Glover, Martyn Cassel, Theo Wull and Mark Ryswell. Robert would have come along as well but he was still injured from the wound Rhaegar gave him at the Trident and was in no condition for a battle. Truthfully Ned was actually glad that Robert wouldn't be able to make it, after the sack of Kings Landing he had no desire to be in his good brothers presence at the moment.

The seven of them rode silently as they headed towards the Tower of Joy, each preparing for what was likely to be the final fight of the war. Ned could see the final three members of Aerys Targaryen's Kingsgaurd; Oswell Whent, the Lord Commander Gerold Hightower, and Arthur Dayne the Sword of the Morning.

Ned's wraiths moved up beside him, with swords in hand. They were seven against three, but that didn't mean victory. Despite his age Hightower looked strong enough to swing his blade through any armour, never mind the boiled leather armour they all wore. The Dornish heat prevented the men from the North from wearing anything that offered more protection. Ned didn't know about Oswell Whent's skills but had no doubt he was more then a match for any of them, Aerys didn't suffer poor soldiers as his protectors, and the irony wasn't lost of him considering the Kingslayer. Dayne however, well Ned could remember Ashara telling him about her family's sword Dawn, and that only the greatest warriors of her house wielded it. He had no doubt that Arthur was able to kill any of them. The fact he held two long swords was further proof of skills, only the greatest knights could use two long swords simultaneously. Individually they were dangerous, combined Ned was starting to wonder if he should have brought more men with him.

"I looked for you on the Trident, why weren't you there to protect your prince?" Ned asked them, briefly wondering if their was a chance to end this without bloodshed before he cast out that thought. Before him was some of House Targaryens most loyal men, and not to mention they had been keeping his sister imprisoned for well over a year now, he would gladly kill the there of them.

"Our Prince wanted us here." Arthur answered him. _'But why?'_ Ned wanted to ask but he didn't.

"Woe to the Usurper if we had been." Ser Oswell added with a dark humour.

"When Kings Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword and I wondered where you were?"

"Far away," Ser Gerold said, "Or Aerys would sit on the Iron Throne and our false brother would burn in the seven hells."

"Ser Willem Darry fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys." Ned told them. "I thought you might have sailed with him."

"Ser Willem is a good man and true." Oswell stated.

"But not of the Kingsgaurd." Gerold pointed out. "We do not flee."

"Where's my sister?" He asked, staring at the tower that the three Kingsgaurd were guarding.

In response Dayne merely gave a sad smile. "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come." He spoke downing his helm. "And now it begins." He stated drawing his two swords, Whent and Hightower mimicking his move.

"No," Ned corrected. "Now it ends."

Charging forward with Ice in his hand Ned swung it at Dayne only for him to parry it with his left sword and strike with his right, which Ned dodged. Ned and Arthur attacked back and forth the two of them oblivious to the deaths of their respective companions.

Both Ned and Arthur were littered in small cuts, with their swords red with blood as they fought, unaware that they were the only two left fighting. Ned's arms were killing him as he struggled to raise in time to block Arthur's strikes. Ned overreached himself at one strike and Dayne knocked Ice out of his hand, and prepared for the killing blow.

Ned in that moment thought of all those he had failed. His son who would never know him, his wife who he scarcely knew, his brother Benjen who would lose nearly his whole family, his brother in all but blood Robert, and above all Lyanna, who he had failed to save. But the killing blow never came. Opening his eyes he saw Arthur on the floor, gurgling blood as it poured out of his throat, while Howland Reed stood behind him, a bloody knife in one hand as his other held his wounded side.

Ser Arthur looked at him from his crouched position on the floor, almost looking like he couldn't believe what was happening. Slowly Ned picked up his sword and raised it in the air. Just before he brought it down on him Arthur mumbled something that Ned couldn't hear before he swung Ice, decapitating the Sword of the Morning.

Ned was about to check his men for survivors before the sound of a woman's scream cut through the air. "LYANNA." He yelled as he rushed up the steps of the tower, only turning back to glance behind because he thought he heard something.

Seeing only Howland who was kneeling next to Willam Dustin he returned his attention to getting to his sister. As he rushed though the tower he entered a room where he saw Lyanna on and bed that was stained with blood.

"Ned?" Lyanna asked weakly as she saw who she thought was her brother at the door.

"Lyanna." He answered her as he rushed to her side, leaving Ice at the edge of the bed.

"Is that you?" She asked, birthing fever leaving her delirious. He moved over to her. "Is that really you?" She asked as he held her hand. "Your not a dream." She said with a small smile.

"No I'm not a dream." He told her as he placed his hand on her head, both to comfort her and to check her temperature. From her inflamed forehead Ned knew that she had a fever. "I'm here. I'm here."

"I've missed you big brother."

"I've missed you to." He replied as he pushed down the urge to cry. Ned had grown very adapt during the war at seeing when someone was close to death and he knew that Lyanna did not have long left.

"I want to be brave." She told as she held his hand, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"You are." He told her.

"I'm not. I don't want to die."

"Your not going to die." He told her, trying and failing to sound convincing. "Get her some water." He snapped at the serving maid in the corner of the room.

"No, no water. Listen to me Ned." She said getting his attention. "His name is Aemon Targaryen. If Robert finds out he'll kill him. You know he will. Promise me Ned, promise me." She told him as the birthing maid handed him a babe. Ned didn't even bother trying to hide his shock as the woman gave the babe to him, a billion emotions running through him.

Lyanna wasn't kidnapped, she went willingly. The entire war, the deaths of thousands of people, his father and brother included was all for nothing.

The sound of a baby crying drew his attention, especially as the sound wasn't coming from the baby in his arms, and he looked up to see the birthing maid bring in another babe. Unlike the boy in his arms that babe looked nearly a year old. Also unlike Aemon that baby had a small batch of black hair on its head and it's eyes were a deep blue.

"Is that Rhaegar's...?" He began asking.

"No." Lyanna spoke with a newfound strength as she stared lovingly at the girl, her baby girl. "She's mine and Robert's. Selene Baratheon." Lyanna spoke and she closed her eyes, exhaustion and death taking over her.

 **\- line break -**

Robert paced around the Kings chambers in the Red Keep, anxiously awaiting Ned's return with Lyanna. He found it hard to believe it had been a year and a half since he had last seen his precious she-wolf, only a matter of weeks after that damned tourney at Harrenhall when she told him she planned to travel to Winterfell to see her family.

Robert had allowed her to go, after all their relationship was slightly tense and he had no problem with Lyanna visiting her family. With a dozen of House Baratheon guardsmen as her protection she began the journey. He didn't hear anything for over a full moon but that hadn't concerned him, there was quite a distance between Storm's End and Wintefell and it would take Lyanna a good few weeks to reach it. Until word had reached him of how Brandon and Rickard Stark had been executed by the Mad King after accusing Rhaegar of kidnapping his wife.

Getting in contact with Jon Arryn, who was like a second father to him, and Eddard Stark, his good brother and now Lord of Winterfell, the three of them plotted, plotted the fall of House Targaryen. After a months worth of planning, contacting loyal bannermen, and preparing weapons for war the three of them rose in rebellion against the fucking dragons. Ned marched the Northern lords south of the Neck, Jon put down the rebels in Gulltown, while he had done the same to the rebellious lords of the Stormlands at Summerhall.

A knocking at the door drew his attention, deep in thought the knocking actually shocked him slightly. "Enter." He called as he stopped pacing and walked over to his desk, draining the cup of glass that was on it.

"Your grace," a servant said bowing upon entry. "Lord Stark has arrived but-"

Robert would never learn what else the servant was going to say because Robert pushed right past him and rushed as fast as his legs could carry him to the entrance of the Red Keep where he saw Ned getting off his horse. Robert looked around and saw Ned, the crannon man Howland Reed, Jon was also there as well as Tywin Lannister, but no Lyanna.

"Ned?" Robert asked his best friend, fearing for the worst. When Ned looked at him, his face full of grief and his eyes red with unshed tears, he knew his answers.

All around him people waited for the infamous temper of their kings house but nothing happened. Robert didn't feel the explosive rage that he had felt when he'd learnt of Lyanna's abduction, or during the battle of the Trident. Instead he just felt numb and cold. _'It was all for nothing,'_ he thought in despair as he troubled to keep standing, placing his hand on a nearby wall to keep himself upright.

The sound of crying drew his attention. "What's that?" He asked, not really caring, only asking because it was disturbing him.

In response Ned smiled as he held a baby in his arms, given to him by Lord Reed. "It's your daughter Robert." Ned answered, causing his head to snap at him. "By my sister Lyanna." Slowly Robert walked towards Ned, and the baby in his hands.

Slowly Robert took the baby girl out of Ned's arms and looked at her. She was a pretty baby he supposed, looking nearly a year old with thick locks of black hair. "What's her name?"

"Selene Baratheon." Ned answered with a small smile as he saw Robert holding his niece. It was actually quite the sight. Considering Robert's immense size it almost looked like a bear with its cub.

"Princess Selene Baratheon," Robert muttered as he stared at his daughter, his daughter with Lyanna. It was then that he noticed that their was a mark on the back of his daughter's left hand. "What's that?" He asked Ned referring to the mark.

"I don't know." Ned admitted. "It looked like ink but it wouldn't wipe off so I chalked it up to being an unusual birthmark."

Robert hummed in response. It was a very strange mark. It looked like a triangle with a circle inside of it and a line going through it.

Jon Arryn and Tywin Lannister watched the scene in silence, both with very different thoughts. Jon was sad about Lyanna's fate, even if he had expected the worst. Even thought Jon knew Lyanna very little, he knew both Ned and Robert cherished her greatly and would mourn her for a long time.

Tywin on the other hand was pleased, very pleased. With Lyanna Stark dead their was nothing in the way of Cersei becoming queen. And best of all Lyanna Stark's child was a daughter, and therefore last in the line of inheritance, meaning that there was nothing in the way of Cersei's eventual children from sitting on the Iron Throne.

 **\- line break -**

Princess Selene of house Baratheon read a book in front of her, a book about the history of the Stormlands, and her Durrandeon ancestors, set nearly seven hundred years ago. It was very fascinating, how the Durrandeons had once ruled nearly half of the South. They had ruled the Stormlands, Riverlands, what would become the Crownlands, large parts of the Reach, as well as parts of the Westerlands and Vale. But as time went by the Durrandeons slowly lost their kingdom piece by piece, in large parts thanks to the Hoarres of the Iron Islands who were expanding their own kingdom.

Selene shut the book and exited her chambers, her mind wandering. The castle was mostly empty, an unusual blessing thanks to the current Greyjoy rebellion as it was being called. Selene was currently seven name days old and was far more intelligent then a child her age had any right to be. Not surprising since in her mind she was in her mid twenties.

Selene hadn't the faintest idea how she was alive, though she suspected it had something to do with the Hallows considering the mark on the back of her left hand. She guessed there was more to being the master of death then meets the eye.

The last thing she remembered was facing Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and then that was it. She was sad that in both her lives she was forced to grow up without her mother, but then again she has always been fates bitch. Selene didn't have many memories of her mother, and the few that she did were faint and unclear. She could recall a beautiful woman with raven coloured hair who held and often sang to her, she knew that was her mother. She could also recall three men who always looked at her with disdain and disgust. They were, as she had taken to calling them in her own mind, 'the three cunts' that had been her mother's jailers.

Though Selene knew something else had happened at the poorly named Tower of Joy because Selene could recall her mother saying _"Promise me Ned, promise me,"_ Ned being her uncle, who though she hadn't met since she was a baby, she was always keeping in contact with via ravens.

But at least she still had a father in this life. Robert Baratheon may often be busy hunting and whoring but he was always sure to make time for her, and ensured that she had everything that she could possibly want. In her last life she hated attention, but being being reborn as a Princess of a great nation had taught her to use the attention to her advantage. Although there was one massive drawback about her new life and that came in the form of the queen bitch that she was forced to call her stepmother, Cersei Lannister.

As Haley Potter she had hated her aunt Petunia who constantly insulted and belittled her, but now as Selene Baratheon she would gladly give a million gold dragons if it meant that she could put up Petunia Dursley instead of Cersei Lannister.

She hated Cersei and the feeling was completely mutual. In fact Selene was certain that the only reason Cersei hadn't tried to have her killed was because if anything happened to her then Cersei would have to face of father's wrath, and no amount of Lannister gold or threats would stand in his way.

Selene walked down a portion of the Red Keep that she had never been to before. It was mostly deserted or at least that was what she had thought before she heard the distinct sounds of footsteps behind her. Turning around she saw a man dressed in Baratheon coloured armour, but she knew that he wasn't a Baratheon guard. With the gold cloaks loyal to whom payed them, the red cloaks loyal to the Cersei, Selene made sure to know all the Baratheon guards because they were the only ones she could trust with her protection. She knew every one of the Baratheon guards and this man was not one of them.

"Who are you sir?" She asked as her eyes darted around her.

"No one." The man answered with a foreign accent as he stared at her intensively, almost looking for something.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked in an entitled voice, attempting the threaten card.

"I know a girls title, I don't know what the girl is." The man stated.

"What?" She asked confused and a little frightened that the man may know about her magic.

"A girl has two faces, and the mark of the Many Faced God." The man told her, adding to her confusion. The mark she guessed referred to the Hallows mark on her hand, but that still left the question of her having two faces. He couldn't possibly mean... No he couldn't.

"Two faces?" She questioned.

"The face you wear now, and a face with emerald green eyes, auburn hair and a lightning bolt scar on your forehead."

Selene resisted the urge the bite her lips in nervousness, a nervous tick that she had developed in her last life, and the habit had stuck. The man had gone through the trouble of tracking her down, and if he could infiltrate the Red Keep undetected, yet it hadn't harmed her, it suggested that he had no wish to harm her. "I want you to swear it. Swear that you won't reveal what I tell you to everyone." She spoke with more determination then any child of seven should be able to.

"By the seven New Gods and the Old Gods beyond counting I will not reveal a girls secrets." The man swore.

"Not good enough." She snapped at him. Half the men in Kings Landing swore on the gods, didn't stop most of them from being criminals and corrupt bastards. "Swear it on your life and on the many faced God."

The man hesitated for not even a second before he swore the vow. "As a humble servant of the many faced God, I swear to never reveal the secret of Selene of house Baratheon upon my life."

Selene nodded in acceptance. The man was clearly devoted to his 'Many Faced God' and she doubted he would have made such a vow unless he had every intention of keeping it. "What is your name?" She asked him curiously.

"This man is known as Jaqen H'ghar." The man answered as he stared at her, waiting for her to answer.

Selene took a moment before answering, carefully considering her choice of words. "That woman is me, I used to be her, before I died and became Selene Baratheon." She answered as she carefully watched his reaction. She briefly noticed surprise flash over his features before he quickly covered it.

"So you've already received the gift." The man stated. _'Gift, what does... Oh!'_ Selene realised as it finally clicked who this man was. The gift, meaning the gift of death, the mark on her hand, the mark of the Hallows and death, the mark of the Many Faced God. This man was a Faceless Man, a servant to the God of Death.

Selene knew exceptionally little about the the Faceless Men, only that they were meant to be a religious order, or movement that prayed to death. They were also some of the worlds most skilled assassins, but they weren't what people thought of as traditional assassins, and that was about the extent of her knowledge on them.

"I have." She replied, even though it wasn't a question.

"You have already received a the gift, and therefore will not need to receive it again." Jaqen stated and Selene blinked once and then twice.

"Are you saying I don't need to fear your order?" She questioned, feeling immensely relaxed.

"A girl does not," Jaqen answered her. "A man also has an offer for a girl."

"What offer?" She asked curiously.

"To teach a girl, to teach her how to fight, to give the gift, and what that entails." The man said in his accented voice.

"You would teach me to be a Faceless Man?!" She exclaimed in shock as she took a small step back.

"Yes and no. A man is willing to teach a girl what all acolytes are taught, but the girl will only become one of us if she truly wishes to be no one." Jaqen told her, as her mind pondered the benefits and drawbacks. In this day and age it was considered unbefitting for a woman to be trained how to fight, and while there were exceptions, for example Bear Island in the North and Brienne of Tarth, daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth, a Stormlord, but they were few and far between. It would allow her to pretect herself, especially as she couldn't rely completely on guards, or even her magic. Due to countless spies following her nearly every day, Selene simply couldn't risk practising magic in the Red Keep, and she also lacked a focus to properly wield her magic.

But there were drawbacks. Selene knew that undergoing the training of a skilled and ruthless assassin would change her mentally, as well as morally. Also while this 'Jaqen H'ghar' may be willing to teach her she doubted other members of the Faceless Men would be as tolerant to teach their skills to an outsider. But the more she thought about Selene found that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

"I accept." She told Jaqen who smiled at her.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene sat at the desk in her solar in Storm's End, going through the reports of the various Stormlords about their lands, and expansions. Though technically the solar was her uncle Renly's Selene had taken it as her own since she was ten and she had been 'exiled' to Storm's End, after an incident with her loathsome younger brother Joffrey.

At first Selene had seen it as a punishment, but she had decided to see the advantages of it, one of which was that she was out of King's Landing that became more of a lions den then a stags court day by day. In Storm's End she was surrounded by smallfolk, guards and bannermen who were fiercely loyal to House Baratheon and she didn't have to fear about Cersei Lannister sending someone to slit her throat because she decided that she'd outlived her usefulness.

Once she had arrived in the Stormlands Selene started meeting the various farmers that worked on the lands of Storm's End and had them implementing new, and more modern farming measures in order to increase the crop yield. The farmers had been very reluctant to change the way that they worked, especially on the word of a ten year old girl, but Selene simply pulled the royalty card. The farmers soon changed their tunes when the farmlands surrounding Storm's End more then doubled their crop yield, and very soon the farming measures spread to the other Stormlords. The Stormlands had always possessed fertile lands and with these new farming methods and better equipment such as - they could almost rival the Riverlands in terms of crops, although they still had a long way to go before they could even hope of challenging the Reach, which held a monopoly in terms of farming.

Of course the current advantage the Stormlands held in terms of farming wasn't going to last forever. Sooner or later knowledge of her peoples farming techniques would spread to the other kingdoms, and they already had spread to the North and the Westerlands. The former in order to help her mother's homeland more capable of coping with the harsh winters they faced and the later out of a deal with Tywin Lannister that included migrating a thousand farmers from the Stormlands in exchange for a thousand miners from the Westerlands.

Although Selene despised Tywin Lannister and the methods he employed she couldn't deny that he was an intelligent man and a brilliant administrator, after all he had successfully ran the realm for twenty years while Aerys Targaryen burned people left, right and center. Although she suspected that the only reason Tywin migrated so many miners was because the mountains in the Stormlands while rich in iron ore, marble and other precious metal ores, possessed a complete lack of gold, gems and other precious minerals, that could potentially threaten the Lannisters wealth and power.

There were no villages in the Stormlands, only castles and that was due to the storms that forever plagued the land. Even in the middle of summer the name of the land held true and for her first year in Storm's End a howling storm kept her awake nearly every night. Selene loved Storm's End, but it took a long while to get used to it. But while no wooden structure could survive in the Stormlands, stone structures with strong foundations could, leading to the development of what many had began to call the 'White City' outside the walls of Storm's End.

Made completely out of marble the city had started being built two years ago with her uncle Renly's permission. While it had a long way to go before it was an official city, currently at best either a large village or a small town, it had the potential to be a city. Of course all of her renovations and changes had done hell to the treasury, not helped in any way due to how her uncle had wasted half of it on his balls and masquerades but she had managed, albeit barely. A knocking at the door drew her attention. "Enter." Selene called out, causing Brienne of Tarth, her sworn shield to enter.

Selene had visited Tarth in a curiosity to meet its fabled beauty, and Selene found her nickname very unjustified. True Brienne was hardly the most attractive woman, a large result of her immense size but she was hardly ugly either, and though she hid it well Selene could see that she was very hurt by the mockery she received. Brienne was one of the Stormlands greatest warriors and deserved better to be mocked behind her back, and in many cases straight to her face so Selene had made her, her sworn shield.

There had been much objection, especially from Boros Blount her Kingsguard 'protector' but after Brienne sent the man back to King's Landing with a broken arm and a tail between his legs the complaints stopped.

"Your grace-" Brienne began before she interrupted her.

"Selene." She corrected, although Brienne was one of the few that she actually let call her by her name.

"Your grace," Brienne said again, although this time with an amused smirk on her face. "The lords have arrived." Okay, that had been quicker then she had suspected, she noted as she stood up from her desk and headed towards her chambers to get in the appropriate attire as Brienne followed behind her.

Once she entered her chambers Selene immediately began stripping off, a smirk on her face as Brienne looked away with a small blush. There was a lot of impractical clothes in Westeros, not to mention Selene hated wearing dresses, only doing so when the situation required it, such as now. Silks were too soft, and somewhat frail and easily ripped, making them impractical. The wool and furs of the North were more practical but often too warm this far in the South, so Selene mostly wore Dornish leathers, far more comfortable and practical then most fabrics in Westeros.

"Why have you gathered the Stormlords here Selene?" Brienne asked as Selene started putting on a long dress that was more thn slightly revealing, and with a large dip in the neck to show off her cleavage. The question had been bugging her for a while and the only reason that she hadn't asked before was because it wasn't her place to question the princess.

"What were the Great Houses that fought on the Trident Brienne?" Selene instead asked back, wondering how long it would take for Brienne to work out the reason.

"Baratheon, Stark, Tully and Arryn." Brienne answered wondering where she was taking this.

"Baratheon, Stark, Tully and Arryn." Selene repeated as a servant started tying up the back of her dress. "My father defeated Rhaegar, my uncle Eddard broke the siege of Storm's End and freed me and my mother from the Kingsguard, my uncle Stannis captured Dragonstone, while Jon Arryn negotiated peace with the Dornish. Those were the decisive factors that won the rebellion. The Lannisters however sacked a nearly defenseless city, killed a mad man and slaughtered a woman and her babes." Selene finished bitterly.

What happened to Elia Martell and her children was the main reason that Selene despised Tywin Lannister. Killing children just because they possessed Targaryen blood reminded her all to well of the way that Voldemort tried to kill her because of that stupid bloody prophecy. The fact that the men who did the deeds were still among the living infuriated the princess and while she loved her father, his refusal to punish, at the very least, Clegane and Lorch, was a massive sore spot in their relationship.

"Of all the Great Houses the Lannister contributed the least to the rebellion yet they strut around King's Landing as if they are better then everyone else, as if they single-handedly one the rebellion."

"That still doesn't answer why you've gathered the Stormlords to Storm's End." Brienne stated while Selene smiled in response.

"My 'exile' if you will is over." She told Brienne who eyes widened in realisation.

"You're returning to King's Landing, and you're taking the Stormlords with you." Selene nodded, telling Brienne that she was correct.

"It's time the Westerlands realised that just because they have gold they don't own the world."

Brienne nodded in understanding. Many Stormlanders, her father included, often complained about the high places in court that were held by the Westerlanders as opposed to the Stormlords, especially when the king himself was a Stormlander. But still Brienne couldn't help but note that the princess was playing a dangerous game. Whether you loathed or liked -Brienne had to stop herself from scoffing at that thought, no liked the Lannister, feared and respected them yes, but never like them- them the Lannisters were the richest and most powerful house in Westeros.

"I hope you know what your doing." Brienne spoewith a touch of concern.

"Trust me, Brienne, I know what I'm doing." Selene reassured her sworn shield.

 **End of prologue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Robert Baratheon, first of his name and all those other useless bloody titles stood at the entrance to the Red Keep, anxiously awaiting for the return of his daughter, who he had scarcely seen in the last five years. Robert hadn't wanted to banish Selene, because no matter what you called it was banishment, but after the way she had beaten Joffrey black and blue and knocked out at least two of his baby teeth Robert was really left with little choice in the matter, even if the little shit did deserve it. Unfortunately Joffrey was the heir of the Seven Kingdoms and Selene needed to understand that actions had consequences.

Robert had heard reports from various Stormlords and his old friend Ned about Selene and what they reported filled him with pride. An independent and intelligent woman who tolerated no useless shit from anyone, better at ruling then him it seemed. Not that such a thing was a great challenge, Robert knew that he was never meant to rule a kingdom. Give him a war and he'll win it, but matters concerning treasury, and agriculture and he was as clueless as a boy with his first whore.

"Where the bloody hell is she?" He muttered impatiently, as he ordered a nearby servant to refill his wine cup.

"No idea," Renly replied looking very amused, well more amused then normal. "She must be bringing a larger party then expected." _'Yep, Renly knows the reason she's late,'_ Robert thought, _'Stannis as well'_ , he noted looking at his two brothers. For once Stannis didn't actually look like a complete wet shit, always going on about his imagined slights. Although Robert was annoyed that even though he was king, his brothers knew more about what was going on then he did.

Robert caught sight of Beric Dondarrion, a fellow Stormlord and one of the few in the capital, who he had sent ahead to greet and escort his daughter. "Dondarrion." He bellowed as the named man rode his horse in front of the king. "Where the bloody hell is she?" He snapped, patience wasn't his strong suite.

"She and her party were just entering the King's Gate when I met them." Dondarrion answered.

"About time." He grumbled. "And how large is her party?" he asked to which Dondarrion smirked as he proceeded to list the many Stormlords who had accompanied his daughter.

"Easily in the hundreds your grace, with men from houses Caron, Swann, Selmy, Errol, Buckler, Tarth and Estermont. And that was only from a first glance your grace, there are likely to be many more."

Robert was befuddled by the sheer number of Stormlords accompanying his daughter. He tried to remember the last time that capital held such a strong presence of Stormlords and unless he was mistaken it hadn't since the end of his rebellion. Robert turned to his brothers, and while both were surprised by the number of Stormlords, neither were shocked about it. "You knew about this?" He accused them.

"Selene sent me a raven asking if I had any problem with, I believe her words were 'putting the arrogant lions in their place'. And as it was I didn't." Renly despite being a 'frivolous dandy' as some called him, wasn't stupid and with the tension between the Lannisters and the Baratheons, King's Landing was a very dangerous place and more Stormlords in the capital was a very welcome advantage.

"You're always complaining about how the Lannisters strut about the capital as if they own the place." Stannis stated in his normal condescending tone of voice that just made Robert want to punch him. "Your daughter is simply reminding them of their place."

"And what is our place Lord Stannis?" Robert felt like groaning at the sound of _that_ voice. One day, she couldn't have given him one day, no that bitch had to ruin it like she did everything else. Cersei was at the entrance to the Red Keep, a score of Lannister guards behind her, as well as her brother. At least Joffrey wasn't there, the little shit had been completely unbearable, even more so then usual, since he had found out that Selene was returning to the capital.

Stannis turned to face the queen but before he could snap out reply to her he was interrupted. "Realising that just because you shit gold doesn't mean that you own the world, and that it doesn't make you better then everyone else." Selene snapped from atop of her horse. It had been over a year since he had last seen his daughter and she had changed a lot since then. For one thing she had gotten taller, taller then Lyanna had been, and though he wasn't certain since she was sitting on her horse she looked nearly 5'7" or 5'8", a tall height, especially for a woman of only fifteen. Although she was dwarfed by the massive figure of Brienne of Tarth who sat on a horse next to Selene. That great beast of a woman looked as tall as Robert himself was. Selene also had her hair braided down her back and was not at all to his surprise she was wearing Dornish leathers as opposed to dresses, ever since she was a child she had always hated wearing dresses. From what Robert could recall she didn't look that much like Lyanna, oh there was certainly a resemblance and anyone could who knew Lyanna could tell that Selene was her daughter, but it was clear that Selene favoured him instead of her mother.

 _'At least one of my children looks like me,'_ he thought feeling pleased. Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella all took after their mother in appearance, though at least only Joffrey took after her in personality. Both Tommen and Myrcella were sweat children, and more then once Robert wondered how they could possibly have come from that bitches cunt.

"Is that so, princess?" Cersei spoke through gritted teeth as she glared hatefully at Selene while his daughter, completely unbothered by it simply got off her horse and walked straight towards Cersei so that the two of them were barely a feet apart.

"It is your grace," Selene spoke with enough mockery to put Littlefinger to shame. "I have a question Cersei, in the Riverlands they call Walder Frey the Late Lord Frey because he didn't get to the Trident in time for battle, so in the Westerlands do they call your father the Late Lord Lannister because he didn't stir himself from Casterly Rock until after the war was all but won?"

Everyone watched the exchange near speechless. No one _ever_ said that about Tywin Lannister, especially not to his daughter who held more pride for the Lannister name and legacy then any other member of her house.

It was at that point that Robert couldn't help it anymore, he let out a massive booming laugh while Cersei's face created interesting new shades of red out of anger or embarrassment. "You've got balls bigger then any man Selene, like a true Baratheon." He announced proudly while Selene turned towards her father, the frown on her face turning into a large smile.

Not caring about the people around them, Robert embraced his daughter in a large hug which she eagerly returned, neither of them giving two shits about the glare Cersei was sending there way. From his daughter's strong build and the impressive amount of strength with which she returned the hug, it was clear she had recieved some form of martial training. Not really surprising considering the strong martial culture of the Stormlands. While they didn't exactly send woman off to fight their wars, several houses in the Stormlands, especially within the Dornish Marches trained woman in at the least basic forms of combat.

"It's good to see you Selene." Robert said as they pulled away.

"And you father." Selene replied. The two of them fell into mostly small talk about the last few years, how everything had been, etc. Then Robert got to a sensitive issue.

"So when are you planning to travel to Winterfell?" Robert questioned, after she was fifteen now, and he presumed she had already done her mourning rights within Storm's End and now she had to do it in Winterfell. It was a Durrandeon tradition that had been adopted by the Baratheons, spending every night for a month among the tombs of your ancestors on both sides of her family. Robert and his brothers had all done the same thing when they were fifteen, spending a month within the tombs of Storm's End and then a month within the tombs of Greenstone, the ancestral keep of their mother's house.

"Roughly a few moons before I turn sixteen, after which I intend to stay for the remainder of the year." Selene told her father. Though she had visited Winterfell several times in the last few years she had never stayed there long and she wanted to use the oppertunity to better get to know her cousins.

Robert nodded in understanding. Hell, maybe he would join her there, it would allow him to see Ned again and get out of the shit pool that was King's Landing. The fact that Cersei hated the North for their 'barbaric ways' only meant that she would be unlikely to join, an added benefit.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene walked the halls of the Red Keep, familiarizing herself with the layout of the castle. The tension within the capital could be cut with a knife. The nobles in the court were set into two groups, the Stormlanders and the Westerlanders. Though truthfully at the moment Selene had more important things to worry about then the relations between the two kingdoms. There was magic in King's Landing.

She hadn't been able to sense the magic before she was sent to Storm's End, her magical core being too under developed and the ever watchful eyes of the queen, the mockingbird and the spider prevented her from practicing her magic in the capital in order to become stronger. But near five years in Storm's End, without countless spies following her every move, and Selene had been free to practice and focus her magic.

Without a wand, or any type of focus, channeling magic was much harder, though not as hard as it should have been, considering her attempts at learning wandless magic in her last life. Selene theorised, and it was only a theory since she had no way of proving it, that the mark of the Hallows on the back of her hand, provided some sort of pathway for her magic, making it easier and far less exhausting to call upon. This was proven by the fact that despite being right handed she found it easier to channel her magic with her left hand.

In theory this should mean that she shouldn't require a wand, but in reality it was far from true. Wands didn't just allow you to better access your magical core, they also had their own internal magic that bonded to your own magic, and added it's own strength to yours, making you much more powerful, and that was the reason why very few wands worked properly for anyone but their true owner. That was why so few wizards bothered mastering wandless magic, not only did it take years, or even decades to master but you were far more powerful with a wand then you could ever be without one.

Without a wand, and even with the mark of the Hallows on her left hand, magic was dangerous. Spells left you weakened, in fact Selene had even fallen unconscious a few times when she had done a few particularly powerful spells. And if Selene attempted a spell too powerful before she was ready, it was possible that the result could very well be her death.

However not all forms of magic was potentially life threatening, such as how she was trying to locate the magic within the Red Keep. It involved using your magic to expand your senses and to sense everything around you. For a lack of a better explanation it was a lot like the Force from the Star Wars movies in her last life, though significantly harder to achieve then what the movies made it seem.

Selene followed the magic until she was deep within the lower levels of the Red Keep, near the Black Cells. Following the source of magic Selene walked through a clearly unused corridor by the signs of cobwebs and spiders. Selene didn't need a torch, her training under Jaqen had taught her to adapt to all situations and adapting to darkness was one of the first lesson. It didn't take long for Selene to realise that she was within the infamous secret passages of the Red Keep.

 _'Huh, I thought that they would have been better hidden,'_ She thought with a little surprise. It hadn't exactly been difficult to find the secret passages, which lead to her wondering who else was aware of them. Varys was bound to be aware of them, he'd be pretty shit spymaster if he wasn't, but who else? It was certainly something to find out about, if she could find these passages then so could others.

The pull of the magic was much stronger in the passageways, and it allowed Selene a better opportunity to study it. The magic in nature was very strange, and old. Not as old as the magic that existed in foundations of Storm's End, that type of magic was ancient and completely alien to what she knew of as magic. The magic beneath the capital however was more elemental in nature then anything.

It did not take a genius to realise that the magic had obviously been done by a Targaryen. It was obvious that the Targaryens had clearly wielded some form of magic, after all the Targaryens, and the other forty dragonlord families of old Valyria had been able to do what to what wizards from her world had been trying and failing to do for centuries, tame and control dragons. Though the dragons that used to live in this world were clearly a very different bread from the dragons that had existed in her own, if the dragon skulls within the dungeons was any indication.

The Hungarian Horntail was one of the largest dragon breads in her world, and yet the skull of Belarion the Dread was at least three times the size of the skull of the Horntail she had faced when she was fourteen.

Selene continued her walk through the passageway, following the trail of magic, until it led her to the end of the passageway, with a wall blocking her path. "This is it." She muttered out loud as she studied the wall, particularly the magic on it. The magic was weak and frail, nowhere near as powerful as it once was. But despite it's almost foreign nature to it, she recognised it for what it was. Blood Wards.

Selene was something of an expert on Blood Wards, and despite having little to no knowledge on Valyrian magic she could easily recognise it for what it was. Blood Wards demanded payment for entry, and usually only allowed a member of the bloodline of the one who cast the spell.

Taking her knife from its sheath she cut open her palm and placed it one the wall. House Baratheon was a cadet branch of House Targaryen, not to mention her great grandmother was a Targaryen, so she should be able to gain access. Also due to their weakened state, even if the magic denied her it shouldn't be powerful enough to cause her any harm. Hopefully.

A slow rumbling sound filled the area as she wall slowly shifted backwards and opened up.

Slowly moving forward Selene entered the chamber, and when she did the wall slammed shut behind her, cutting off what little light that there had been within the underground passageways. Selene could normally see very well in the dark but in this pitch blackness she couldn't see a thing. Raising her left hand she cast a spell. "Lumos." She muttered and a small white light appeared in the palm of her left hand.

The light it provided wasn't very strong or bright, but it allowed her to see what was around her. One thing that she noticed was that it wasn't as dusty or messy as it should have been, for starters it was also organised. Though it was clear that no one had been within the chamber for many years, it was obvious that someone had clearly been within the room, maybe around a decade ago, a few years longer.

The chamber itself wasn't very large, probably around fifteen by fifteen feet. There wasn't much in terms of gold, she could see three small open chests that were filled with gold, but it wasn't a massive amount. The dozens of stacks of scrolls and old books that littered the floor she imagined were far more valuable. There was a small desk against the back wall and Selene walked towards, finding it covered with parchments. Selene was about to turn back when she noticed that on one of the parchments was the mark of the Hallows.

Sitting on the dust covered silk chair next to the desk Selene picked up the piece of parchment. _"I was furious when I learnt that Lyanna was pregnant with Baratheon's seed. I was tempted to force her to take moon tea, but she was too far along the pregnancy, moon tea would have left her damaged."_ Selene felt her hands clench in anger and her face turn into an ugly frown as she realised that Rhaegar Targaryen had written this.

 _'Calm yourself down,'_ Selene scolded herself, _'He's dead and will stay that way'_. Pushing down her anger, no easy task as she possessed written proof that Rhaegar wanted to have her aborted, although she didn't understand why her mother's health was of any concern to Rhaegar at all.

 _"But I decided to let Lyanna keep her child, if she gave birth to a son, then the child would be the Heir to Storm's End and will be raised alongside my son, an Orys Baratheon to the three heads. After all the Baratheons had been strong allies to my dynasty before Robert Baratheon broke faith with House Targaryen."_

 _'Broke faith. BROKE FAITH,'_ She thought enraged as she resisted the urge to slam her fists onto the table in anger. _'That bastard kidnaps my mother, while his father burns my grandfather alive, and forces to my uncle to watch, yet WE broke faith with those sister fucking inbreds'_. Counting down from ten Selene forcibly calmed herself down before she continued reading.

 _"But when I saw the mark on the back of her hand, I knew that the girl would be far more valuable then I had thought. I remember seeing the mark within several of the old scrolls that my family was able to salvage from Valyria before the Doom, a sign of the Gods and of great power. I had intended for Aegon to marry his sisters, as Aegon the First did, yet now I believe it more beneficial for my son to marry this girl, Selene Baratheon, and her offspring will restore the magic of house Targaryen, or else..."_ That was all that was written on the parchment.

Selene felt sick about the way that Rhaegar wrote about her, in fact she actually swallowed because she felt some bile forcing its way up her throat, as her mind teamed with possibilities of what could have possibly happened to her if Rhaegar had won the battle of the Trident. What if she had been born without her magic, or the mark of the Hallows? Would he have slit her throat, declaring that she was worthless to him? With all the atrocities committed by his family she wouldn't put it past him.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene walked up to her chambers in the Red Keep, the same one she had five years ago, though she had made some changes to it, for starters there were now two large tapestries in the room, each representing her Baratheon and Stark heritage, and she had also had the servants put a desk in her office, she needed to work after all. Selene sat down at her desk, a cup of Arbor gold in her hand. If there was one similarity between her and her father it was there love of wine, though unlike her father Selene made sure to pace herself. She had no intention of developing a bear belly. Though after everything she had read within that hidden room she needed a good drink, though she didn't have time to binge herself at the moment.

Selene sipped the wine as she looked over the reports, as well as a deteailed map of the Stormlands, waiting for her uncles to turn up, and so the three of them could work on further strengthening the Stormlands. Her uncle Stannis' knowledge of warfare was more then capable of adding to the defenses of the Stormlands, and her uncle Renly, though not a warrior or a politician was good at securing alliances and he was also very popular. His _friendship_ with Loras Tyrell could also be a benefit. The Tyrells were a very powerful and wealthy family.

Selene had nothing against her uncle's preferences, in fact she was more then slightly experimental herself, though the two of them could be more subtle about it. Half the realm was aware of their relationship. Still, their feelings for each other were genuine and neither cared what everyone thought of them so it didn't really matter in the end.

Both her uncles arrived at the same time, but when they both took their seats opposite her they slowly pushed the chairs back in order to inch away from the other. Their behavior wasn't anything unusual to Selene, neither of her uncles liked each other due to their polar opposite personalities. "Why did you want to see us Selene?" Stannis asked in a tone that could almost be considered rude but for her uncle it was practically the only way he spoke. In fact the only times that Selene had seen her uncle Stannis speak in what could be considered a warm and feeling tone of voice was when he was with his daughter, her cousin Shireen.

"I'll be blunt uncles, I'm of the belief that the Stormlands isn't achieving its full economic potential, and I wish to fix that." She stated getting straight to the point, Selene never had any patients for politics, preferring blunt and hard truths, and she valued those who did the same. If Dumbledore had more like that then who knows how much more successful the war could have gone, or how more equipped she would have been to stop Voldemort.

"You've already increased the revenues of the Stormlands, and made the land far more self sustaining." Stannis stated and she accepted the compliment with a nod of gratitude.

"True but there are ways in order to further increase it's success." She told them taking a sip from the wine as she pointed at two areas on the map.

"The Kingswood and the Rainwood." Stannis observed. "Taking advantage of these forests would benefit the Stormlands."

"But there's one problem," Her uncle Renly began as he assessed the prolems, "the Kingswood, while part of the Stormlands belongs to the crown. And while we could convince Robert to hand over all rights of it, it doesn't change the fact that many bandits exist within those woods, and clearing the bandits would be costly in both men and money."

"They're should have been dealt with long ago, by you of all people since _you_ are Lord of Storm's End." Stannis snarked at Renly while Selene resisted the urge the rub her eyes in annoyance. _'Please not this argument again,'_ She prayed to whatever gods were out there. Yes Stannis should have been Lord of Storm's End but he wasn't, it was high time that he got over it.

"While you are right Renly, Stannis does have a point and it's high time that these bandits were dealt with." Selene spoke, taking both sides and hopefully bringing her uncles back to the matter at hand. "But there's also another way of strengthening the Storlands, and that's increasing it's population." She added.

"There are thousands of people in King's Landing especially within Flee Bottom, who live in appalling conditions, they shouldn't be hard to convince." Stannis stated, and it was something that she had considered as well.

"But most of them lack a beneficial trade, and while it shouldn't be hard to teach them farming, even if we add fifty thousand farmers to the Stormlands we would never be able to contest with the Reach."

"We need shipbuilders, smithies, architects and the like." Renly stated in concentration. "People always go where there's work and so we can send out word about there being well payed jobs in the Stormlands. It should attract people from the more populous regions of Westeros."

Three cups of wine later, and dozens of different plans to enhance the Stormlands and her uncles bid their goodbyes to her, or Renly did, Stannis howevered at the door, waiting to say something. "Tell me Selene." It was not a request but a demand and she nodded to him to continue.

"Economic enhancement is often a method of preparing for war." He said to her, expecting an explanation. It was a question that she had been suspecting and she was a tad surprised that Stannis had waited until Renly was gone before questioning her.

"It is." She answered. Stannis sense of duty and justice was a rarity and she wanted his support.

"And are you planning to go to war?" Stannis questioned accusingly. He may be a skilled soldier bu just because he was good at war didn't mean he reveled in it like Robert did.

"Tell me uncle, do you know how many wars have been fought in the last century?" She asked him. Stannis was confused by the question and simply gestured for her to continue his explanation. "There have been eight large scale conflicts in the last century, and thrice that many smaller scale conflicts. Confrontation is unfortunately human nature uncle. I have no desire for war, it brings nothing but ruin and death, but that doesn't mean I don't want to prepare for that eventuality." She told him as he nodded once in acceptance of her explanation.

"So defending the Stormlands..."

"How long before the Martells get tired of peace and decide to fuck us up the ass and invade the Marches?" If her father had handed the Mountain and Lorch to the Martells then they would have been content, if unhappy, with a Baratheon sitting on the Iron Throne, but his refusal to punish them meant that the Martells wouldn't rest until the Baratheons had been kicked off the Iron Throne.

Selene had actually visited Sunspear nearly a year ago to discuss trade between their Kingdoms, and while Doran and Oberyn didn't actively despise her, they certainly had been very cool with her and she had got the message that the Baratheons weren't wanted in Dorne, and she had left before an angry Dornishmen decided to take things into their own hands.

"Indeed, and much like the Riverlands, the Stormlands are surrounded by rival kingdoms, who all possess some form of advantage over us. The Martells have their deserts and natural defenses while the Tyrells have the numbers." Stannis stated.

"Hope for the best but prepare for the worst is my motto uncle." Selene said as she finished what was her fourth cup of Arbor gold, leaving a pleasant taste in her mouth.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene headed towards the training grounds of the Red Keep, Brienne following a few steps behind her. "So what do you think of the capital after two weeks?" She asked her sworn shield.

"It still stinks of shit." Brienne replied wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Ha, don't worry you get used to it." Selene told her.

"You said that when we got here." Brienne replied. Honestly the heiress of Tarth didn't understand how this, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, was probably the most deplorable region in Westeros. How the half a million people who lived in the city could tolerate the smell she would never know.

"Oh, hush Brienne," Selene said with a smile on her face. "You don't hear me complaining about King's Landing." Brienne held back a scoff at that, Selene always complained about King's Landing.

The two of them continued to the training grounds, making idle small talk along the way. When the two of them arrived to the training grounds they found that it was already filled with various knights and gold cloaks. Seeing them there, Ser Davon Lefford, a cousin of the main branch that ruled the Golden Tooth, and was possibly the second richest house in the Westerlands after the Lannisters.

"Can I help you two, Princess?" The man asked, more polite then the average Westerlander, though his posture held the same 'better then you' arrogance that was common within the nobles from the Westerlands.

"Yes, we're here to train." Selene told him in a charming voice.

"Train?" The man questioned as he looked them both up and down with a condescending gaze as he stared at their armoured forms with swords at their sides.

"Yes, to train." She answered him as she and Brienne walked straight past him into a portion of the training grounds where no one was occupying. Though she was stronger then she looked, Selene couldn't match Brienne in terms of raw strength and therefore needed to rely on her speed and stamina in order to defeat her. As a result she decided to forgo her traditional armour and instead wore the boiled leather armour that was common in the North. "To first blood?" She challenged as she drew her shortsword and Brienne drew her longsword.

"To first blood." She answered back.

Selene looked directly into Brienne's eyes. The eyes was key to combat, they twitched, glanced and shifted, all indicating when an opponent was going to strike at you. Brienne made the first move, lunging forward with her sword, which she was easily able to parry as she then launched her own attack which Brienne blocked. Selene feigned right, and then striked at the left but Brienne still blocked the blow and swing her left fist in her direction, which she was only just able to dodge in time.

The spar between the two of them continued on like that for some time, with Brienne striking blows at her, and Selene dodging them. Selene hed a few bruises on her from where she was forced to dive on the floor to dodge Brienne's strikes, not to mention when Brienne had managed to get an opening and kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the floor. That was what Selene liked about Brienne, she went all out in training and wasn't afraid to hit her just because she was a princess.

But even Brienne's immense strength wasn't able to keep up with her heavy armour and longsword and Selene was about to notice the way Brienne's moves became more sluggish, and she stopped attacking as often. Capitalising on Brienne's tiredness she immediatly went onto the offensive, launching blow and blow onto the large woman. Seeing an opportunity she placed her sword at Brienne's throat.

"Dead." She said with a large smile.

Brienne just laughed in response as the two of them walked over to a nearby bench, a bucket of water next to it. Not caring that people were watching her, Selene dunked her head into the water, the cold liquid refreshing her and cooling her down. "That was refreshing." She said as sh sat next to Brienne on the bench. She simply let out another small laugh.

The two of them merely sat their for a while, gathering their strength before Selene caught sight of someone that she did not under any circumstances want to speak to, and he was walking straight towards her, the Hound following his footsteps. Her younger brother Joffrey, though the fact that she actually shared the same blood as that vicious cunt sickened her.

"Well, well, well, Hound," Joffrey drawled in an attempt to attract attention. "An ugly beast and a stupid woman who fancies herself a warrior." Joffrey insulted before his face turned into an expression of confusion. "Though I can't tell which is which." Brienne didn't even bat an eye at the insult, she'd heard far worse said about her and she couldn't care less what the pampered little shit thought of her.

Selene clapped her hands in an antagonistically slow and sarcastic voice. "Well done Joffrey," She spoke in a tone of voice so brightly that not even Joffrey, thick little shit that he was, could mistake it for anything other then sarcasm. "Did it take you the entire two weeks that I've been in the capital to come up with that insult?" Chuckles filled the training area and Selene even saw the Hound choke on what may have been a small laugh.

Joffrey's face turned a very interesting shade of red at that, not helped at all by the various knights around that were mocking him. _HIM_ , the Crown Prince and future King of the Seven Kingdoms, he would have their heads put on spikes for their insolence. Putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, he drew it a few inches out of its sheath. "Do you like it Selene? Lion's Tooth I named it, and I'm very curious about what the blood of a spawn between a stag and a Northern slut looks like."

Joffrey had an insidious grin on his face and not for the first time Selene wondered how the fuck Joffrey was as twisted as the way he was, it wasn't natural. Not showing an ounce of emotion as she stood up from the bench, not even bothering to pick up her sword from off the floor.

Joffrey twitched slightly as he saw the way that Selene was looking at him, it unnerved him. The look was so cold that he actually felt his blood freeze. He was tempted to run and find his mother, but remembered the presence of his Dog at his side.

"I certainly hope the rumours about you bullying our brother Tommen are false Joffrey, because if they aren't," Selene's smile became completely shark like as she showed all her teeth, much like a wolf that had caught its prey, "Well I would so hate to repeat what I did to you after I saw you with Myrcella." That wasn't true, she would _love_ to beet the shit out of him again.

"If I tell my dog to cut you in half he'll do it without question." Joffrey threatened, regaining his arrogance.

SLAP. Everyone present, who had been watching the exchange between the half siblings in silence broke into whispers as they saw the princess slap the Crown Prince in the face. Although she didn't realise it, in that moment Selene became the envy of many people who had long wanted to slap the Crown Prince but couldn't do so without losing a hand.

Selene flexed her fingers, slapping Joffrey had been far more pleasurable then she had thought it would be. Though she kept her eyes on Sandor Clegane and the fact that he didn't so much as twitch a muscle as she hit Joffrey proved a theory of hers. Sandor did not obey the orders of Joffrey or even Cersei, but like his brother Gregor he answered only to Tywin Lannister.

"Say something as stupid as that again and I will slap you again." Selene told him.

"I'm telling mother." _'Well I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth,'_ She thought as she then slapped him again.

"Get out of here." She snapped at him, and picking himself up off the floor Joffrey ran for it as fast as his legs could carry him, Sandor reluctantly following him. "That was good." She told Brienne.

"Not good, brilliant." Brienne corrected. "I swear he looked like he was going to piss himself." And the two of them shared a laugh at her brother's expense.

 **End of chapter 1. Please review.**

 **Guest: Selene isn't aware of what happened at the Tower of Joy, she was less then a year old and can barely remember it. As far as she knows Jon is merely her bastard cousin, not her half brother.**

 **917brat: The incident between Joffrey and Selene will be revealed in the next chapter in a Mycrella POV.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Myrcella Baratheon smiled as she finished painstakingly sowing her dress. Though she possessed a decent amount of skill at it, she disliked needlework, not because she considered herself a warrior like her sister who rebelled against the traditional rolls for women, but because she simply found it boring and time wasting.

As a princess Myrcella could simply order a seamstress to make the dress but that created a simple problem. All the seamstresses in King's Landing, or at least all the competent ones worthy of doing the clothes for the royal family, were in her mother's payroll, and if her mother found out what she wanted for the style of her dress then her mother would throw a fit.

Tonight was the feast to celebrate her sister's return to King's Landing, and Myrcella was going to celebrate it by wearing a dress in black and gold with the emblem of House Baratheon sewed proudly onto it. Myrcella decided long ago, five years ago to be exact, that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with her mother's family, and despite her Lannister looks Myrcella considered herself a Baratheon, like her sister Selene, who she looked up to. Ironic since Myrcella used to hate her sister.

Much like her older sister, she was far more intelligent then a child her age had any right to be, and she had also learnt at a very, very young age that if she blamed something on Selene, then her mother would automatically take her side, no matter what. Suffice to say Selene got into a lot of trouble for incidents that had absolutely nothing to do with her. When she was five Myrcella had tried to do the same with her father, and it failed spectacularly, and Myrcella found herself spanked for the first, and so far only time in her life for trying to get her older sister in trouble.

That was when Myrcella started to hate her sister, who was beyond all doubt their father's favourite, because in her mother's words "She's spawned by that Stark whore." At the time Myrcella didn't know what a whore was, but she was smart enough to know that the term was anything but complimentary, and whenever her father wasn't around she often took to calling Selene that. Not that it ever bothered the dark haired Baratheon, Selene simply ignored her, something that only angered her more.

But that all changed when she was six years old. At that time Myrcella had barely spent any time with her brother Joffrey, and she didn't realise just how much of a monster that he was, or even her own mother. When she was six her brother asked her if she wanted to see the kittens of the pregnant kitchen cat, something she had desperatly wanted to see, and she also wanted to spend time with her older brother who was almost always in the presence of her mother on his own.

Myrcella couldn't help but let out a snort about how foolish she had been. She and Joffrey went into the kitchens where they found the cat sleeping but there was no kittens. Myrcella asked where the kittens were and in response Joffrey gave her a smile that to this day still sent shivers down her spine, as he took out a hunting knife from this pocket, how Joffrey had gotten hold of the knife she didn't know, but she assumed her mother. She could never deny her "golden lion" anything.

Joffrey then slammed the knife into the sleeping cat, and started gutting the kittens out of its belly. Myrcella remembered screaming for help but no one came. She tried stopping Joffrey but he was two years older, and also bigger then her, he simply cut her with the knife and pushed her into the wall, and went back to skinning the cat, an insane grin on her face that must have mirrored that of Aerys Targaryen.

Once Joffrey finished killing the cat, he pulled out what was left of its kittens, and gory and mangled sight of the baby cats had caused her to through up. Joffrey simply laughed as he walked towards her, knife in hand, while she whimpered against the wall, certain that she would die. And that was when Selene had shown up.

The sight of a dead cat, her brother covered in blood with a knife in his hand and Myrcella crying against the wall, with her arm bleeding profoundly was the image her sister had come upon. In that moment Selene lived up to their family's words 'Ours is the fury' and Joffrey was on the receiving end of it. She pounced on Joffrey as fast as lightning. Her brother tried to slash at Selene with the knife in his hand but she merely caught his wrist and then punched him in the face hard enough that at least two of his teeth had been knocked out. But Selene didn't stop there, she kept on punching until Joffrey had long since lost consciousness and it would take many moons before all the marks, bruises and cuts were completely healed.

After that Selene walked up to her, and ripped of a piece of her tunic and wrapped a self made bandage around her arm and helped her to her chambers. Myrcella had asked why not see the Grand Maester, but Selene stated that she didn't want that old lecher touching her. Selene had helped her into a clean pair of clothes and cleaned out her wound. Myrcella had asked why Selene had helped her and Selene had replied "Because you're my family."

Never did Myrcella think she would ever feel the same amount of guilt as she had in that moment. She hadn't considered Selene as family, and she certainly hadn't treated Selene as family, but despite everything her sister considered her family. Myrcella remembered breaking down into tears after that and hugging her sister, constantly apologising for being such a terrible sister to her. That was the sight when her mother bust into her chambers, the very image of an enraged lioness ready for the kill.

"You filthy little beast," Her mother had screamed as she grabbed Selene by the scruff of her neck then and then slapped her hard enough that the sound must have echoed throughout King's Landing.

"Mother stop it." Myrcella had screamed. Though the entire incident left her truamatised it was the look that her mother had given her that still gave her nightmares. It was a look of pure and complete disgust, and it was directed at her, at how she would defend this _outsider_.

"This little whore, hurt your brother." Mother stated in a tone so cold that it would have frozen Dorne. "Remember Myrcella, we are lions, the most powerful creatures in the land, and we do not concern ourselves with stags or wolves." Cersei snapped as she turned towards Selene, who was glaring at her mother in pure hatred. If her father had arrived even moments later then he had, arriving barely a few seconds after her mother had said that, then Myrcella feared that her sister would have died that day. The next day Selene was sent to Storm's End, both as punishment for assaulting the Crown Prince, and protection from her mother.

That was the day that Myrcella decided that she would never, ever be a Lannister. If being lion meant being a monster like Joffrey or cruel like her mother, then Myrcella would rather drink the most lethal poison in Maester Pycelle's possession then be one. Of course she couldn't exactly say anything like that, the Lannisters owned the royal court, and Myrcella had even heard some of the servants muttering about how it was the Lannisters that truly ruled King's Landing, not her father. It was only with the return of her sister, with a small army of Stormlords at her back that Myrcella finally felt confident enough to wear the colours and bear the symbol of house Baratheon instead of house Lannister.

 _'You call me your little lioness mother, but I am a stag. And I am more a child of the storm then I will ever be a child of Casterly Rock,'_ Myrcella thought with a small hint of triumph as she stared at the dress in front of her, the stag of House Baratheon proudly stitched on it.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene clapped politely as another knight slammed into the dirt, a Frey (Selene didn't bother listening to his name, likely Walder) against Loras Tyrell. It really hadn't been any competition at all, though she had serious doubts about the Knight of Flowers skill with a sword, with a lance he was nearly unrivaled. He was also beautiful in a way that few men were, and Selene could see more then a few woman, nobles and commoners alike, swooning and blushing at the mere sight of him. Cersei had once tried to have her betrothed to Loras Tyrell but when his preferences, and relationship with her uncle, became common knowledge the idea was killed, something Selene was grateful of, especially as she preferred the more ruggedly handsome type of men, not someone who was pretty enough to be a girl.

"Knight of Flowers indeed," Selene muttered as she noticed that his armour, horse and lance were all covered in the golden roses of House Tyrell. Selene heard her father snort next to her, while she could feel her uncle Renly's glare on the back of her head.

The next joust was between a Westerlander, she didn't know his name but from his sigil she knew that he was a member of house Westerlin and a Stormlander, although this Stormlander was a personal interest to her, as she resisted the urge to lean forward in excitement, knowing that it would be noticed by one person or another.

"Connington." Her father muttered disdainfully as he glared at Raymund Connington, the younger brother of Ser Ronnet Connington Knight of Griffin's Roost, and cousin of the man her father probably hated the most whose name didn't end in Targaryen, Jon Connington. Selene had to resist the urge to laugh at how her father would react if he knew just how _close_ she and Raymund were.

Truthfully the Connington's actually possessed a somewhat tragic history. Every great house had a bannermen that rivaled them in wealth and power, the Starks had the Boltons, the Tullys had the Freys and the Martells had the Yornwoods. The Baratheons however had the Conningtons, and Jon Connington was more loyal to Rhaegar Targaryen then Robert Baratheon. Connington's actions, and convincing many other prominent Stormlords to fight for the Mad King had delayed the end of the war by months. And how was Jon Connington rewarded for his devotion, being stripped of all lands and titles and exiled across the Narrow Sea, something that was actually a mercy considering the Mad King. At the end of the war her father had given the Conningtons Griffin's Roost back, but that was it, with nine tenths of their lands being distributed to more loyal Stormlords and the second most powerful house in the Stormlands, became one of its weakest and poorest houses. Selene briefly wondered what had happened to Jon Connington, only hearing a rumour that the man had apparently drank himself to death across the Narrow Sea, in Pentos if she remembered correctly, before Selene focused on the events at hand. She would much rather enjoy the tourney then think about an exiled knight that may or may not be dead.

When Raymund knocked the Westerlin into the dirt Selene merely gave a polite clap but that didn't change the smile on her face from being more genuine. "Blasted Griffins." Robert muttered as he stared at the knight.

"They're not that bad." She contradicted before she realised the words came out of her mouth. But luckily while her father gave her on odd look, no one else did, and Robert forgot all about it when he drained his glass of wine, and ordered his squire, the spoilt arrogant prat Lancel Lannister to refill it. Selene wondered if arrogance was hereditary, considering nearly every member of the Lannister family had it.

The smile on her face turned into a small snarl, but she didn't let any sound escape her lips at who the next contestants were. 'Ser' Gregor Clegane, the Mountain who Rides, against another Frey from the Twins, though not the same one Ser Loras had fought. Selene knew what the outcome would be before it happened, the Frey had very poor quality armour and his helmet was better suited for a melee then a joust.

Selene's belief was confirmed when she saw that the Mountain's lance was aimed not at the Freys chest but at his head and she closed her eyes, not wanting to witness what was about to happen.

"AAAAAHHHHHH." A scream fell over the crowd and Selene opened her eyes to see the Frey on the floor, with his head twisted in a way that left no doubt it was broken.

Selene glared at the obviously pleased look on Clegane, and briefly glanced at Cersei only to look away in disgust. If she didn't know any better then by the look on her face Selene would guess that Cersei was aroused by what the Mountain had done.

 _'One day Clegane, you will die, and no one will save you,'_ Selene vowed.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene took a bite to eat from the piece of boar in front of her. It was partway through the feast and so far it was _somewhat_ enjoyable. Unfortunately rather then sitting with her circle of friends who sat at one of the tables further down the great hall, she was sat at the top table, with her family, though half of them were missing. Stannis only stayed long enough to be polite and then quickly left, while Renly had disappeared with Loras Tyrell, and Cersei had sent Tommen to bed. Her father had also disappeared with a busty serving maid. Although she didn't approve of his whoring the look of Cersei's face was very amusing, of course it was nothing compared to the look on her face when Myrcella appeared at the feast, that was hilarious.

Myrcella had shown up in a golden dress, with black sowing all over and the stag of House Baratheon proudly displayed on it, with no lion in sight. Myrcella had walked up to her and hugged in front of the entire great hall and thanked her. Selene hugged her sister back and accepted her thank you, all the while she shot a smirk at Cersei who looked like she had swallowed every sour lemon in Dorne.

"Come on." She told Myrcella as she grabbed her hand and lead her down the hall.

"Where are we going?" Myrcella asked a little timidly. Myrcella had never felt braver then when she entered the feast but seeing the way her mother had spent the entire feast glaring at both Selene and her had done a number on how brave she was feeling.

"To sit with some friends." She told her sister as she led her to a table in the corner that was made of a group of heirs and daughters from noble houses in the Stormlands.

"So the noble princess has decided to grace us with her presence?" One of them asked in a mocking tone. Myrcella gasped at the way that she was addressed but Selene simply laughed back at him.

"Of course Percivel, after all how could you all possibly survive without my presence?" She asked her friend, Percivel Buckler the heir of Bronzegate, in an entitled tone of voice as she purposely straightened up to look all haughty and arrogant.

"Oh I think we would have managed Selene." Elena Estermont, her second cousin told her as they all laughed.

"Budge up," She told a couple of them as she and Myrcella too seats at the table. There were eight of them in total, including Percivel and Elena. There was Arstan Selmy, the great nephew of Ser Barristan, and the current lord of Harvest Hall at the age of eighteen name days after his father was killed during the Greyjoy rebellion. Next was Arron and Alyse Whitehead the twin children of Ser Addam Whitehead, the heir of Weeping Town. Then there was Raymund, who she sat next too. Then there was Rickon Lonmouth, the young son of Richard Lonmouth who was knighted by Rhaegar Targaryen. And finally was Shyra Errol.

The Errols were a unique house in the Stormlands, originally from Dorne, but having been banished from their homelands when they supported the Durrandons instead of the Martells in a conflict over five hundred years ago. The Durrandons gave the Errols a plot of land in which they built Haystack Hall, but the family kept many Dornish customs, including their laws of inheritance. Which was why Shyra was lady of Haystack Hall instead of her younger brother Sebastion.

"Where's Brienne?" Raymund asked curiously. Unlike his older brother, who even he admitted was a bit of a prick, Raymund actually got along rather well with the heiress of Tarth.

"In the training yard." She answered taking a sip from the glass of wine in front of her.

"Where else would she be? We all know how much she hates feasts." Percivel spoke while Raymund simply chuckled back.

After that the nine friends continued their conversations, with Selene introducing her little sister to them.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene walked towards the Small Council chambers of the Red Keep. Her uncle Stannis had requested that she be presence, why he wanted her present she didn't know, but truthfully she didn't want to be part of the Small Council. With the exception of her uncle Stannis she didn't trust a single one of them, not even her uncle Renly, at least not completely.

Selene entered the Small Council chambers and she was already the last to arrive. "Princess Selene," Varys spoke in a charming voice with a bowed head. "I would like to welcome you to this meeting of the Small Council."

"Thank you Lord Varys." She told him as she took a seat next to her uncle Stannis.

"Indeed princess." Jon Arryn spoke, though truthfully he was doubtful about the princess. True there had been changes to the Stormlands, and the credit went to her, but still, the Old Falcon was only permitting her into the council because Lord Stannis requested it, and Robert had approved. Time would tell whether she would contribute to the meeting or not.

Petyr Baelish was not happy about the presence of a Stark, even only a half Stark, being present on the Small Council, especially not one that was proving to be as troublesome as Selene Baratheon. Slowly but surely his businesses within the Stormlands was being bought out from under him by the spoilt princess, severely limiting the revenues he earned from that kingdom. The only consolidation was that his businesses within the Stormlands weren't as numerous, or profitable as his businesses within the other six kingdoms, but still it angered him. But he also knew not to underestimate her, she may be the only member of her family that actually possesses a brain.

Selene observed the members of the Small Council as they went with the discussions, and Selene realised just how incredibly boring the Small Council meetings were and now understand why her father never bothered with the meetings. In the end she decided not to really interact in the meeting, leaving the members to do their jobs as she assessed them.

Jon Arryn the Hand of the King wasn't necessarily the best man for the job, though he was far from the worst, and he was one of the few people her father actually listened to, but still, she had doubts about the man. For starters the realm was in a deplorable state and in many regions of Westeros the economy was on the verge of collapse, and while the blame couldn't only be placed on Jon Arryn, he did share some responsibility. While he was good at political maneuvering, and was able to keep the peace between the lords who had fought for the Targaryens and those who had fought for the Baratheons, he wasn't necessarily the most knowledgeable man on how to efficiently run an entire continent, or handle the treasury, and he relegated many duties. Also his trust in Littlefinger gave her serious doubts about him.

Next was her uncle Renly. He was a good man, she would never deny that, just a lazy one who didn't take his responsibilities seriously. Also as Master of Law it was his responsibility to ensure the stability of King's Landing, yet the crime rate within the capital was unparalleled and the corruption of the gold cloaks honestly baffled her at times, not able to truly understand how an organisation that had over two thousand members, yet at most a hundred weren't guilty of any crimes.

Her uncle Stannis was competent and the royal fleet easily matched, if not surpassed the level it was at during the Targaryen regime. It was also probably the only part of King's Landing that wasn't corrupt. His sense of duty wouldn't let him tolerate it, but after the position of Grand Maester, the position of Master of Ships was the least influential, and his influence was limited. Not to mention his lack of skill, or desire to play politics meant that he had few allies within the capital.

Then there was Varys. No last name, no background, no nothing. That alone set her on edge about the man. The fact that he had the largest spy network in all the known world unnerved her. There were many forms of power, military, political, physical power, and in her own personal case magical power. Knowledge however, eclipsed them all and no one knew more then Varys. Another problem was that no one knew who he was loyal to. He claimed to serve the realm, so why did he serve Aerys, and why did he serve her father. Selene didn't like admitting but her father was a terrible king, oh he was certainly an improvement over Aerys but he wouldn't go down in history as a good king. No Varys was serving a different agenda, one that she didn't know.

Pycelle was Tywin's man through and through but he was of no concern to her, the position of Grand Maester was by far the least influential on the Small Council, and considering the man's age, and habits, it would be easy to get rid of him if need be.

And finally was Petyr Baelish, commonly called Littlefinger. She despised that man, more then anything. He spread his influence like a cancer. She remembered when she had purchased a brothel that had belonged to the man in Weeping Town, and the things she had learnt about that man from the whores within that brothel sickened her. Unfortunately her success in removing Littlefinder's influence was very limited. In the Vale and the Crownlands, holy Christ, the atrocities committed by that man were enough to make the Mad King looked tame, and Selene vowed that when the time came, she would finish what her uncle Brandon had started years ago, and kill him.

When they began discussing the state of the treasury Selene started taking a larger interest. "So how much is the crown in debt?" She questioned Baelish and Lord Arryn.

"Two million to house Lannister, seven hundred thousand to the Iron Bank of Braavos, six hundred thousand to House Tyrell, four hundred thousand to the Faith and another three hundred thousand to the trading cartels of Tyrosh." Baelish listed off with the same infuriating smirk that seemed a permanent fixture on his face.

Selene couldn't quite stop a grimace from coming onto her face at the news. The debt was much worse then she had thought, being no more then two million, but it turned out to be twice that. Selene had an idea on how to reduce a large portion of the debt, but she would need the approval of at least her father, or Jon Arryn to do it. "Lord Baelish, how much does the Westerlands pay in taxes on a yearly basis?"

Both Littlefinger and Pycelle were alarmed by the question, but while Selene didn't notice Baelish's alarm, she did notice how Pycelle fidgeted slightly at the question, arousing her suspicions. Baelish proceeded to launch an overly long and thorough explanation on the Westerlands, their businesses and revenues, likely hoping that the matter would confuse her to the point where she wouldn't be able to follow the explanation. Unfortunately for him she had been running the revenues of the Stormlands for the last five years, and that wasn't counting how she had managed the Potter fortune in her last life. Selene was easily able to understand Littlefinger's overly technical explanation.

"So on average the Westerlands pay roughly 350,000 gold dragons a year, with exceptions made depending on external factors, for example the Greyjoy rebellion and the year afterwards where the Westerlands had a reduction in taxes in order to repair the damage done to Lannisport?" She asked for confirmation while the members of the Small Council looked at her in surprise.

"That is correct princess." Jon told her. He hadn't spent much time with the royal princess but if she was able to follow Lord Baelish's explanation then she may very well contribute to the meeting after all.

Selene quickly calculated the average taxes paid by the Westerlands and in her head leveled it against the debt that the crown owed Tywin Lannister. "I have an idea that could potentially remove the debt owed to Lord Tywin. Depending of course on whether my father, the Lord Hand and Lord Tywin agree."

"What is is Selene?" Stannis questioned her.

"In exchange for Lord Tywin cancelling the debt owed him," She began, causing her uncle Renly to snort slightly and the other members of the council to refrain from rolling their eyes at the idea of Tywin Lannister forgiving a debt. "The Westerlands will pay no taxes for six years." Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't that. Baelish looked annoyed, Pycelle pleased. Her uncles and Lord Arryn however were all angered by the suggestion while Varys simply looked intrigued.

"Selene, you honestly can't expect us to agree to that!" Renly exclaimed in shock as the mere suggestion.

"You said that you wanted to limit their influence in King's Landing. Not increase it." Stannis added as he glared at her in fury.

Jon Arryn sighed and rubbed his eyes, causing Selene to wonder about the man, and if he could handle the job. Being Hand to a good king was hard work, to her father the job was nearly impossible. "While the idea possesses merit," he conceded. "It has a large number of political impacts. Many already whisper that the Lannisters rule the realm, and when the lords of Westeros learn that the Westerlands aren't paying taxes, then their opinions will sour."

"The Martells of Dorne and the Greyjoys already hate us, while the Reach, Crownlands and large portions of the Riverlands are packed with Targaryen loyalists who would love to see my father dead. And as long as we don't increase taxes on the North then they really care about what we do in the South." Selene countered. "Therefore their opinions don't matter."

"The loss of revenues from the Westerlands will have a great impact on the treasury, especially if we consider the debt owed to House Tyrell." Baelish countered with no small amount of anger, he couldn't let half the debt disappear, the crown's debt was his main source of influence.

"The treasury has been empty for years lord Baelish, in large parts due to your mismanagement." She snapped at the worm. "I'm not suggesting we offer a similar idea to the Tyrells either, the loss of taxes from the two most prosperous regions in Westeros would be crippling, but we can manage without the revenues of the Westerlands. And with half the debt gone, then we can better allocate our finances in order to pay off the remainder of the debt, especially to the Iron Bank." As dangerous as the Lannisters were, the Iron Bank outranked them.

Selene remembered an old saying from Jaqen about the Iron Bank. _"The Iron Bank is a temple, one that could hold its form for another thousand years. Everyone lives in it's shadow but hardly anyone realises it."_ Suffice to say the debt to the Iron Bank needed to be payed before they decided to back Viserys Targaryen if they believed that he'd repay them.

The members of the Small Council all looked at each other in contemplation as they each considered her sggestion. It had benefits, but also drawbacks, which she had countered. "I will bring your suggestion to the King, princess Selene." Jon Arryn told her at last.

 _'One job done,'_ Selene thought in triumph. She'd removed the financial influence the Lannisters held on the crown, now she had the next part of her job, cleaning up the gold cloaks.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene wandered the city in the middle of the night, as she'd bee doing every night for the last two months. But tonight she wasn't measuring the layout of King's Landing, instead she was finally putting her training under Jaqen H'ghar to good use and striking at the heart of the gold cloaks. Her training under Jaqen had been brutal, there was no other way to describe it.

From the age of seven to thirteen the Faceless Man had trained her in nearly all forms of combat, stealth and infiltration. In fact the man had even tested her by ordering her to infiltrate various keeps and castles within the Stormlands and Crownlands. He had gifted her the various tools for an assassin, such as a lock pick, poisoned and sleeping darts, as well as several small and easily concealed knives. She was also a master with poisons, in fact her knowledge of poisons could possibly rival even the Red Viper's and any of his equally infamous daughters.

But he hadn't just trained her as an assassin but also a warrior. He taught her to master fighting with a quarter staff, sword, spear and even a mace. In the end Selene was a strange mix of a warrior and an assassin, with a rather unique style of combat. Of course that didn't mean her skill was anything like Ser Barristan the Bold, or her step uncle Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, but she still possessed a skill that was far greater then anyone else her age possessed.

But there was one thing that resulted from the training with Jaqen that had impacted, just as she had feared. One cannot undergo the training of a Faceless Man, even if she lacked the knowledge of how to take someones else's face, and emerge from it with the same mentality. Her training had taught her that the world wasn't black and white, and just how stupid she had been in her last life. Stunning instead of killing Death Eaters who only rejoined their master in murdering and killing was pure folly, and it was only in the Battle for Hogwarts that she actually started shooting to kill.

Selene didn't really want to go to such extremes, especially to the point that she was personally doing the job herself but she really had no choice. The corruption within King's Landing was truly staggering to the point that even the Wizengamot of the Wizarding world wasn't as corrupt as this stinking city. It would be easy to blame the corruption solely on the hands of the Lannisters, unfortunately they only contributed to it, not caused it. Truthfully she actually didn't know when the corruption in the capital started, though it wouldn't surprise Selene if it turned out the capital had been corrupt since the Targaryens first built it.

Within one of Littlefinger's brothels which she was currently scouting from a rooftop across the street, in the middle of an orge was Janos Slynt, Allar Deem and several of the higher ranked, most corrupt members of the City Watch. Double checking that there was no spies around that could spot her, Selene took a running jump and landed on top of the brothel.

Climbing to the edge of the roof, Selene hanged of the edge so that she next to a window. Seeing no one inside she quietly opened the window and crawled through it. It wasn't hard to find Slynt, all she had to do was follow the pleasure filled moans, the drunken yells and the very strong musk. Normally Baelish's brothels would be far busier but the men had booked the entire brothel for the night, and it wasn't as if it was the man's only brothel in the capital, he had at least three that she was aware of.

Quietly walking through the brothel Selene followed the noises until she reached an open archway where she saw the orge taking place, a dozen men and twice that many whores, all fucking like animals in heat. Six of them were high level gold cloaks, another five were minor nobles who she assumed was in Littlefinger's pay, while the fat guts in the corner of the room, being serviced by three different whores, was the High Septon.

Looking intensely at a pile of silk covered pillows, forcing her magic to obey her. She could hardly risk waving her hand in order to direct the magic, or saying the spell. Though the men were unlikely to hear her, the whores possibly could, she doubted any of them drank while on the job, and she also doubted any of these men's pitiful performance was able to keep these whores distracted if she risked making her presence known.

Selene staggered slightly as her magic finally responded to her will, the effect of it leaving her a little winded. The silk pillows had caught fire, and before anyone noticed she started making her way out of the brothel, hearing an alarmed scream just as she climbed out of the window she used to get inside of it.

 **End of chapter 2. Please review.**

 **Jon Potter 99: I have considered making her queen, though I'm undecided on whether or not to go through with that plan. Also I already have a pairing in mind for Jon so he and Selene won't end up together.**

 **Arianna Le Fay: She will have a direwolf, I imagine her played by Daisy Ridley, as for love interest and the unity of house Baratheon, you'll just have to wait and see.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

Selene stood next to her father, Lord Arryn and the other members of the Small Council as they stared at the burnt out remains of what was once Littlefinger's brothel. The fire hadn't destroyed anything but the brothel, something she was pleased about, she didn't want to burn the city to the ground. Her father was very disappointed, apparently it was his favourite brothel. Oh well, you couldn't please everyone.

"What do you mean you didn't see anything?!" Baelish yelled at a couple of his whores who stood outside on the street with them, looking more angry then she had ever seen from the man.

The whores had been able to get out of the establishment in time, saving their own lives and leaving behind their customers to their fiery deaths, not that it bothered Selene one bit. The world was a brighter place without those skum that she had killed.

"Mi lord," one of the whores began, a tanned girl with a Dornish appearance, trembling slightly, fearful of what their employer would do to them. "We did what we could to put out the fire, but we were unable too."

"And what of Commander Stokeworth, Deem and the others?" Lord Arryn questioned.

"When they saw the fire, they valiantly risked, and gave their lives trying to put it out." The same whore answered.

 _'Liar, you know it, I know it, and so does everyone else. The lot of you saved yourselves and left those men to burn,'_ She thought, not that she really cared. She had nothing against the whores who worked for Littlefinger, most of them weren't guilty of any crimes and in many cases they were the ones who suffered the most because of that man and his willingness to provide his clients with whatever they required.

"I understand the High Septon was also within the brothel." Stannis stated. He didn't really care about what had happened, he disagreed greatly with prostitution and one of his first acts as lord of Dragonstone was to ban it on the island. The fact that the men who had burned alive were also some of the most corruptible people within the capital also meant he cared not for their deaths.

"Ha, guess he didn't care much for his vows of celibacy." Her father barked.

"As I understand it the Faith is furious." Renly added. "Apparently the High Septon's crystal crown was lost in the fire." _'More likely one of the whores stole it on the way out,'_ Selene thought, though she didn't speak her thoughts. The crown was likely in Baelish's grubby little fingers by now and would probably never be seen again.

"Strange that the Faith cares more for the lost crown then their High Septon." Varys remarked.

"That crown is a priceless relic of the Faith of the Seven, of course they have a right to grieve for its loss." Pycelle objected, though whether that was due to his own beliefs or simply because it was Varys who made the remark she didn't know. The Grand Maester held a lot of disdain for the Master of Whisperers.

"Then the Septon shouldn't have had it with him while he as in the brothel, you don't see me wearing my crown when I'm fucking a whore." Her father grumbled.

"As interesting as discussing the Faiths lost trinkets are," She spoke, drawing a few looks. "We have more important matters. The Lord Commander, and his top lieutenants are dead, leaving the gold cloaks now without a chain of command."

"Indeed." Lord Arryn spoke, his mind quickly going through the remaining gold cloaks. "Jacelyn Bywater could be made Lord Commander, far less corrupt and more trustworthy then Slynt ever was."

After that the lot of them went through a list of potential commanders of the city watch, some of them had potential, while others listed were completely laughable. Her uncle Renly even suggested giving command to Loras Tyrell and everyone dutifully refrained from rolling their eyes. Honestly, Selene was starting to suspect that her uncle was nothing more then a Tyrell lapdog.

"Any ideas Selene?" Her father asked her. Robert had been asking his daughter a lot about ruling lately, and though she wasn't aware of it he was purposely testing her.

"Rolland Storm." She answered after a moment.

"The bastard of Nightsong?" Robert questioned as he scratched his beard. A proven battle commander from both his rebellion as well as the Greyjoy's, and while Robert didn't know the man well, he had little doubt that he would be an improvement over Slynt.

"The man's incorruptible, loyal to a fault and doesn't tolerate any bullshit." Selene defended the man.

While they all debated who should be given command, the man known as Littlefinger slowly stalked off, completely furious. True Slynt was a complete coward, but the man was in his payroll, and with his death, replaced with a man who would more then likely be completely loyal to the Baratheons, then his hold over the gold cloaks would massively decrease.

There was little doubt in his mind who was responsible, and while he didn't know how she had managed to burn down his brothel, he would make her suffer for it, and he would make sure that she received the same fate as her uncle and grandfather, and same fate he was planning for her other uncle.

 **\- Line Break -**

Tywin took a sip from the wine in his hand. Truthfully he didn't actually like the taste of wine, too sweet for his tastes but there was little alternative. As sweet as Arbor Gold was, or as sour as Dornish Red was, both were better then the other atrocious ales and beverages that littered Westeros.

"I'm surprised that you agreed to the Kings offer." His brother Kevin told him, the two of them alone in his solar. His solar was actually rather simple for the richest lord in Westeros, with only a desk, a bookshelf and a large tapestry depicting the Lannister lion. Although on his desk was a small box that contained one of the smaller dragon skulls formally belonging to House Targeryen.

"The princess' offer." He corrected. That fat drunk that he was forced to call his good son lacked the brain capacity to even come up with such an idea.

"The princess' offer. Still I'm surprised you accepted it, that debt was a large source of our influence in King's Landing." Kevin said, as drank from his own cup of wine.

"In the short term the debt was useful and gave us great influence in the capital, in the long term however, and when Joffrey sits the Iron Throne, then the debt not only to us, but the Tyrells, the Iron Bank and the Faith would have been crippling." Tywin explained to his brother. "Robert Baratheon doesn't just borrow money, he borrows it from dangerous people, and his daughter has the sense of it and is correcting her father's follies. And saving us the trouble of cleaning up the debt when Joffrey is king."

"Cersei's been writing to us, complaining about Selene Baratheon. 'She's stealing our influence, she hurt my precious Joffrey, she's stolen my daughter from me'. Ridiculous." Kevin muttered disdainfully.

"If Cersei was half as smart as she liked to think she was then she would have been a mother to Selene, or at the very least civil to the girl so she wouldn't hate us as much as she does." Tywin replied. "Selene Baratheon is an exceptionally intelligent young woman with great influence in the Stormlands and the North, her support of Joffrey would have meant a great deal but now she's more then likely to oppose her brother then anything."

"You respect her." His brother stated in surprise, Tywin wasn't one to feel, nevertheless show respect for someone.

"She is worthy of some respect." He conceded.

"Even though she hates us?"

"Half the realm hates us, the difference is she doesn't let her hatred get in the way of working with us." Selene Baratheon was loyal only to her family, and she didn't count the Lannisters as family, but that didn't mean that she had a problem working with them if it happened to benefit her. The deal they made two years ago where he migrated a thousand miners in exchange for a thousand farmers was proof enough of that.

It also allowed the lords of the Westerlands to farm their own crops, rather then purchase them at cutthroat prices from the Reach and Riverlords, something that was becoming exceptionally necessary considering the dire state of their gold mines. Mines run dry, that was common knowledge, but the Lannisters had been mining Casterly Rock for thousands of years, and their ancesters seemed to develop the belief that they would never run out of gold.

"We both know about the state of our gold mines." Tywin told his brother out loud, not needing to fear any spies overhearing. As skilled as the likes of Varys and Baelish were, getting their lowborn servants into his solar was simply beyond them.

"They've not run dry yet." Kevin reminded him.

"True, but they now yield barely of fraction of the gold that they did during our father's rule of Casterly Rock." Mentioning his father left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was a valid point. "Six years without paying a single copper in taxes will allow us to invest our gold into alternative forms of wealth."

"I'm guessing that you'll stop funding the king." Kevin assumed.

"Cersei will receive the same stipend from us as she usually does, but that's it. Robert Baratheon can find someone else to fund his tournaments and his whoring." Tywin snapped. House Lannister had been given a great boon from the crown, and he wasn't going to let it go the waste. Already he had commissioned for both Castamere and Tarbeck Hall to be rebuilt, may as well put those ruins to good use rather then let them remain as monuments to those who dared defy the lords of Casterly Rock.

And those two seats, both very wealthy in their own right, would be ruled directly by the Lord of Casterly Rock, with the gold amassed by those two seats going straight to their coffers. When their gold mines finally did run dry, then House Lannisters would in no way be crippled.

 **\- Line Break -**

If there was one thing that Varys hated more then anything, it was when his enemies did what was best for the realm. And that was what Selene Baratheon was, his enemy, which was a real shame as she was one of the few nobles in Westeros who not only cared about the people but actually did something to help them. Nearly every day she went into the city and talked to the people, helped them. In fact she even migrated many of them to the Stormlands where according to his little birds they were given land to work on and homes, with many now starting to lead better lives then they were in the capital. Not since Rhaegar Targeryen had a member of the royal family ever done something to help the people in King's Landing, and to do so without an ulterior motive.

The crime rate in the capital had also dropped ever since that _unfortunate_ incident in Baelish's brothel nearly two months ago where Janos Slynt and five of his top lieutenants where tragically killed and command of the gold cloaks was placed in the joint command of Rolland Storm, Jacelyn Bywater and to the surprise and scorn of many, Brienne of Tarth. The famed _beauty_ had however proved beyond all doubt her competence, as well as her sense of duty to the point that even the dour Stannis Baratheon respected her.

Barely four months in the capital and Selene was already cleaning up the corruption and Varys, despite being a staunch Targeryen loyalist just couldn't find it in him to fault the woman, even if with her actions there was a slow but sure decrease in Targeryen loyalty among the people of the capital. Oh there were still many who fondly remembered Rhaegar but as far as many small folk were concerned the Targeryens were gone, and the Baratheons were here to stay.

In the end Varys couldn't bring himself to be too angry, as despite his personal loyalties, it was the realm that he truly served, and if Joffrey was anything like his 'sister' then he may very well truly serve the Baratheons instead. But Joffrey wasn't anything like Selene, he was as mad and cruel as Aerys had been, if not worse since Aerys didn't go mad until after Duskendale while Joffrey just seemed to be born twisted. In fact when Joffrey sat upon the Iron Throne he would unknowingly become the Targeryens greatest ally, by tearing the realm apart and leaving the dragons to pick up the pieces.

But still, that left the question of what to do with Selene Baratheon. It was only a matter of time before Baelish made a move to remove Selene from the 'game', after all though there was no proof, it was obvious that she was responsible for what happened to Baelish's brothel. The question was when would Littlefinger strike at her. His rival was a patient man, one who could wait months, if not years before enacting his revenge, but sooner or later Baelish would strike at Selene, the question was whether or not Varys should do something about it.

If he let Selene die then he had no doubt that the eventual reconquest would be easier, and the young woman did not have a fond opinion of the Targeryens so the chances of making her an ally were slim to none. But then again the woman despised Joffrey, and would need little motivation to turn against the bastard that she thought was her brother, and if she was to ever discover the truth about Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella. Well Varys doubted that Selene could bring herself to hurt either Tommen and Myrcella, but if she knew the truth there was no chance in the Seven Hells that she would ever let Joffrey sit on the Iron Throne.

Varys continued his walk through the secret chambers below the capital as he headed towards the room that served as his meeting place with his little birds. When he reached the door, he knocked twice on it, and then thrice, and then once, to show that it was him. The door opened revealing one of his little birds and he then went inside, where he saw a dozen of them.

His birds brought very interesting whisperers, Tywin Lannister spending massive amounts of gold in the Westerlands, certainly something worth investigation, an increasing number of wildling raids in the North, with an ever decreasing number of members of the Night's Watch. Balon Greyjoy waiting for the perfect opportunity for the kingdoms to appear weak before starting another rebellion. Increasing discontent within the Riverlands with the Tullys down two three male members, two of which were far to old to marry and the third who was in his late twenties but absolutely refusing to marry.

But the biggest concern was the Vale. Between Lysa Arryn ruling the Eyrie, combined with Jon Arryn's increasing age, and the ever present hill tribes, the Vale all but belonged to Littlefinger. Nearly a third of the Vale nobility now answered to Littlefinger, and while there was much opposition to Lysa Arryn in the Eyrie, the half mad shrew hardly inspired loyalty after all, when Jon Arryn died their loyalties would shift to Lord Arryn's son. Hell considering Lord Arryn's age it was doubtful Littlefinger even needed to remove him from the game, the man was sixty eight after all, and who knew how much longer he would live for.

 _'So many problems, so little time,'_ Varys couldn't help but think to herself.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene sighed as she looked over yet another useless piece of parchment in the desk in front of here. She was within the vault she had found, slowly going through everything that was in it, which was easier said then done. Nine out of ten pieces of parchment were written in High Valyrian, and while Selene had an understanding of the language, she was no expert on it, which resulted in the rather large Valyrian dictionary in front of her.

"The priest- No." She muttered as she corrected herself, looking up the word in the dictionary. "The prince who was promised." She read the title of the parchment.

 _"Coming is the one who shall lead the world from darkness,"_

 _"The one who shall defeat the Great Enemy,"_

 _"The one with ice and fire by their side,"_

 _"Azor Ahai will be reborn,"_

 _"And the Prince will save the world."_

"A prophecy." She muttered with complete loathing. A mother fucking prophecy. Selene hated prophecies more then anything. For every prophecy that was fulfilled there were a hundred that weren't, they were unreliable, open to interpretation and caused more harm then they ever could do good. Not to mention those that were fulfilled were often self fulfilling. Voldemort had targeted her because of the prophecy and unknowingly fulfilled it by marking her as her equal. She had spent her entire life as Haley Potter being hunted down by that madman because of a prophecy, and in the end it was all for nothing, she didn't defeat Voldemort, he'd killed her in order to destroy the Horcrux that was in her head.

There was writing written in the common tongue below, handwriting that she had come to recognise as Rhaegar Targeryen's. How Rhaegar had discovered the vault she didn't know, or care for that matter, but he had.

 _"I am beyond all doubt, my son Aegon is the Prince who was Promised, while my daughter Rhaenys is the fire, born from the Dornish flame, but I need a Visenya. Elia is unable to have any more children, Aegon's birth has had a large affect on her health, and even if she was to become pregnant again it would likely kill both her and the child._

 _"But even if Elia was able to concieve another child it wouldn't represent the ice. I have the fire, but now I need the ice. There is only one family in Westeros that represents ice, a family that fought the Great Enemy once before, the Starks of Winterfell. Lyanna Baratheon nee Stark is the first female of that house in decades, she will provide me with a Visenya."_

Selene was trembling slightly as she placed the parchment down onto the table. "'Moon tea would have left her damaged'. Unable to have more children." She muttered, remembering the writing Rhaegar had written when she had first found the parchment. She felt sick, nope, she was going to throw up.

Quickly pushing herself out of the chair she collapsed onto her hands and knees, as she barfed. Throwing up everything she had eaten all day, and day before before. Even after she had thrown up everything in her stomach to the point that it hurt, she still felt like she could still throw up.

"That bastard. That mother fucking rapist bastard." She muttered with complete loathing as she slowly pushed herself off the floor. Her father once said that he killed Rhaegar every night in his dreams, well now she wished that the bastard was still, so she could kill him like her father dreamed of killing that inbreed motherfucking bastard.

Not even bothering to clean up the sick Selene slowly exited the vault, and headed to her chambers, completely exhausted both physically and emotionally.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene walked to her father's chambers in the Red Keep. It had been two days since she had read the prophecy 'prince that was promised' and she did not like being in the Red Keep since then. In fact she despised being in the Red Keep, it left her agitated, because even after fourteen years under Baratheon rule, there was still the ever present reminder, usually in the form of the dragon paintings that littered nearly every wall in the castle, that the Targeryens had once ruled the city.

Which was why she had decided to start her journey to Winterfell much earlier then she had planned. Some time away from the capital would be good for her. Walking towards her father's chambers she saw Ser Jaime standing guard outside, though for once there was a distinct lack of the sound of whores coming from her father's room. "Ser Jaime," She greeted him. "Is my father inside?" She asked.

"Indeed, though for once the old drunkard isn't fucking boars and hunting whores." Jaime replied lazily as he leaned against the wall, not at all bothered about the way that he was speaking about the king, or about the fact that it was too the King's daughter.

"Careful Ser Jaime, despite his faults he is still my father." She told him. "Besides considering the way your own sister whores, you really can't say anything." She told him as she started walking past him before he moved from the wall leaning against, straight into her path.

"What did you just say?" He asked her coldly to her surprise.

"You mean you don't know?" She asked in surprise. Cersei whored almost as much as her father, albeit she was more subtle about it. Selene would have thought that Jaime Lannister of all people would have been more aware of his sister's _activities_ then anyone. "Your sister whores as much as my father, though she's more subtle about it." Ser Jaime was developing a very prominent throbbing vein on his forehead as she continued. "Osmund Kettleblack, and his brothers seem to be particular favourites of your sister."

It was at that point that Jaime snapped, moving almost faster then she could track he crossed the small distance between them and pushed her against the wall, placing his hands at the base of her neck, not enough to strangle her, but close enough that he could still strangle her, or snap her neck.

"You lie." He snarled at the stag spawn as he resisted the urge to just choke the life out of her for daring to insult his sister. He got away with killing a king, he could get away with killing a princess. The fact that Cersei would pleasure him in ways that he could scarcely imagine for it, almost made his fingers twitch to choke her and his cock to harden.

Selene calmly placed her hands on Jaime's wrists, and with more force then he realised she possessed, Selene pried his hands from her neck and then twisted them, not enough to be painful, but enough to be uncomfortable. Though she knowledgeable enough, and very tempted to put pressure on just the right points in his wrists to paralyse them. "I'm not lying. If you want to know the truth ask your sworn brothers, she's constantly whoring while they're standing guard for her. You must be an exception. I guess Cersei doesn't get her jollies from her brother listening to her getting fucked."

Jaime's normally pale face was developing a very interesting shade of red that looked very similar to that of Vernon Dursley. Without saying a word he pulled his hands out of her grip and stormed off.

Selene was very intrigued about the Kinglsayers reaction. It was _way_ to extreme for someone who was merely angry about his sister being called a whore, especially when that was what Cersei Lannister was, a whore. Pushing her thoughts from her mind she entered her father's chambers to find her father in his bed, with a no doubt terrible hangover. "You look like shit." She stated, getting a loud groan in response.

"Is that the way you speak to your king?" Robert asked as he pushed himself up with great effort.

"When the king is completely hungover, and said king is also my own father, then yes, that is how I speak to the king." Selene answered back, causing her father to let out a bellowing laugh.

"Good point." Robert admitted, before he caught sight of something on his desk. "Pass that bottle of wine." He told his daughter. In Robert's personal experience a drink was the best cure for a hangover.

Selene grabbed the half empty bottle but rather then give it to her father she brought it to her lips, and down in one she drained it dry. Letting out a loud sigh she spoke to her father. "Sorry dad but I think it's empty." She said remorsefully as she handed the now empty bottle to him.

"Cheeky brat." Robert muttered as he stared at the empty bottle of Arbor gold. "So come of it, why are you here? You wouldn't be here this early unless it was important."

"For starters, it's nearly mid day." Her father let out a small curse at that. "Second of all I decided to start the journey to Winterfell much earlier." She informed her father.

That got Robert's attention, as with great effort he pushed himself out of them bed. "Why?" He asked suspiciously.

In response Selene just shrugged. She couldn't very well tell him the truth, that would just open a whole series of questions that would be very difficult to answer without resulting in more questions. "I want to visit the North, I want to see my mother's homeland. And truthfully, I just want to get out of this stinking city, after five years in Storm's End I've forgotten how much this bloody city stunk."

Robert nodded in understanding, he couldn't deny his daughter the chance to see her family, and see the homeland of his beloved. "Very well. I wish I could come with you, but both Jon and your uncles are constantly nagging me. Besides I've got an important matter to deal with."

Selene nodded, and with a quick hug to her father, she left to prepare for the journey, not realising what her father was planning to do, or how it would impact on her.

Selene walked to the training yard where she found Brienne overseeing the training of the new recruits for the gold cloaks. In order to improve the efficiency of the gold cloak it was decided that they would be increased to three thousand members instead of two thousand, and that command of an individual thousand would be given to the three leaders, Jacelyn Bywater, Rolland Storm, and of course Brienne.

"How are they doing?" Selene asked.

"I'll tell you when they finally learn which end to hold a spear." Brienne replied dryly. "How long before we leave?"

"Your not coming with me." She told Brienne who looked at her sharply.

"I am your sworn sword." Brienne objected.

"You are also one of the top commanders of the gold cloaks and you are completely incorruptible." Selene countered. "If you leave then Cersei or Littlefinger will get one of their lackeys in charge. If losing my sworn sword means that corruption stays out of King's Landing then that's a price I'm willing to pay."

Brienne nodded, albeit very reluctantly. Brienne liked serving Selene, she was, in Brienne's personal opinion, the best of the Baratheons. While she would be lying if she claimed that she didn't fancy Renly, he just wasn't interested in ruling the Stormlands, more interested in enjoying the benefits that came with being a Lord Paramount then actually doing the responsibility that came with it. Stannis was fair but harsh, but while he did his duty and helped the people, he didn't do it because he wanted to but because he believed it to be his responsibility. As for the King, well King Robert had been great once, but now he was but a shadow of his former self, both physically and mentally. Prince Joffrey was a spoilt prick, and Brienne really hadn't spent enough time around either Tommen or Myrcella for her to get an accurate idea on the youngest two Baratheons.

"Very well, who will you be taking with you?" Brienne asked.

"Ser Arys Oakheart, and fifty Baratheon guardsmen." She answered Brienne. Arys wasn't the most skilled member of her father's Kingsguard, but he, along with Ser Barristan, was probably the most trustworthy. Besides just because he didn't possess the same legendary skill as Ser Barristan and the Kingslayer, didn't mean he wasn't an exceptional fighter. In fact with the exception of Blount, whose appointment was more as a means of peace with the Targeryen loyalists within the Crownlands, all the Kingsguard were skilled with a blade.

"Very well." Brienne replied with a tone of reluctance. "At least he's better then Blount." She added remembering the ease with which she bested the kingsguard disgrace now nearly two years ago.

"That he is." Selene replied.

 **End of chapter 3. Please review.**

 **In case anyone is confused Selene is aware that Cersei sleeps with other people beside her father, but isn't aware of the true extent of Cersei and Jaime's relationship.**

 **Many have requested me to make Myrcella Robert's daughter, but I'm sorry but Myrcella is Jaime's daughter.**

 **SPOILER. SPOILER. SPOILER. SPOILER. SPOILER. SPOILER. SPOILER.**

 **Many have requested that Selene and Aegon (Elia's son, not Jon) get together, and while I'm undecided on who to pair Selene with I have decided to include Aegon in this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**We are currently three years before the start of season 1 and I just thought that I'd list the ages of all major characters.**

 **Aegon= 16**

 **Selene= 15**

 **Robb= 14**

 **Daenerys= 14**

 **Jon/Aemon= 14**

 **Joffrey= 13**

 **Myrcella= 11**

 **Sansa= 11**

 **Shireen= 9**

 **Arya= 9**

 **Bran= 8**

 **Tommen= 6**

 **Rickon= 5**

 **Chapter 4**

"Never been to the North Ser Arys?" Selene asked the Reach born Kingsguard as the man wrapped his wool cloak tightly around himself. The two of them stood on the deck of a ship with White Harbour within sight. In roughly an hour they would be at the only city in the North.

"Never been further north then the Iron Islands, princess." He replied, his breath visible as he spoke. He knew that the North was the coldest of the Seven Kingdoms, but he hadn't thought that it would be this cold. Though considering the fact that he had spent the better part of the last seven years in King's Landing might have had something to do with it. "Aren't you cold?" He asked the princess who seemed completely unbothered by it.

"Not my first visit to the North." Selene answered with a smile. "Though I admit it is a bit colder then usual today. Have you ever seen snow, Arys?" She asked him.

"Not since the last winter, princess." Arys asked before giving her a quick glance. "Are you saying it's going to snow?"

"Summer snow they call it. They don't experience as much of it in White Harbor as some regions of the North, though you should see some of it while we are at Winterfell." They fell into a small comfortable silence after that.

"Princess may I ask you a question?"

"You may ask but I can't promise an answer." Selene told him.

"What does your mourning right entail?"

Okay Selene hadn't been expecting that question, though it made sense, that was one of the main reasons that they were going to Winterfell. "Every night for twenty days I'm to spend within the crypts of Winterfell."

"So you sleep in the crypts?" He asked her causing her to laugh.

"Gods no, that would be uncomfortable. Not to mention the ultimate sign of disrespect." Selene told him. "I have to sleep during the day."

"But what do you do in the crypts?"

In response she just gave Arys a smile but didn't answer. Honestly what had happened during her mourning rights at Storm's End was a secret that she would take to the grave. Not that it meant much since not even she really understood what had happened. Her ancestors had been doing the mourning rights for so long that they had forgotten the reason why it was started in the first place. But honouring and remembering the ancestors Selene knew was only part of the reason.

There was another reason, one that she had a strong suspicion that she would discover in Winterfell.

But still something was happening. Call it instinct, call it paranoia, but Selene believed that dangerous times lied ahead. She wasn't lying when she had spoken to her uncle Stannis about strengthening the Stormlands in preparation for war, because sooner a later a war was going to break out, it was merely a question of when and with who.

 **\- Line Break -**

Every thing was going according to the plan. Aegon was proving to be everything that a king should be, less like one of the weak and mad Targeryens that the last Valyrians had become and more like one of the ancient dragonlords of old. Minus the dragon of course.

But that didn't mean there weren't problems, the main one in the form of Viserys Targeryen. In the case of the second son of the Mad King the apple hadn't fallen far from the tree, and honestly they weren't sure about what they were to do with him. But they had larger concerns then the beggar king. Five of the Seven Kingdoms had risen up to kick the Targeryens off the Iron Throne and those same kingdoms would gladly fight to keep the Targeryens off the Iron Throne.

Which led to his main job in the royal court, to slowly destabilise the realm, and drive a wedge between the Great Houses of Westeros. And ironically enough the Great Houses were doing that job on their own. Hoster Tully's ambitions had given him few allies among his bannermen, and marrying his daughters to two different Lord Paramounts had done little to increase the prosperity of the Riverlands, with the North farming their own food, and purchasing what they couldn't farm from the much cheaper prices from the Stormlords. Tywin Lannister was the most hated man in Westeros and had few allies among the Great Houses. Balon Greyjoy eagerly awaited the day he could start another rebellion, and his brothers were just as stupid as him. And many lords, both within and outside the Reach held a great deal of disdain for Mace Tyrell as a result of his incompetence and foolish nature.

And that wasn't counting the Royal family. Honestly what madness possessed Cersei to carry her brother's children instead of her husband's he didn't know, already both Stannis Baratheon and Jon Arryn, helped of course by his whispering of course, were suspicious about why none of King Robert's children with Cersei looked anything like him.

Cersei's arrogance had been a massive boon, the steps to drive the realm apart and then unite it under a dragon banner once again had already began. The Targeryens would build a kingdom in Essos and use it as a stepping stone to conquer Westeros.

A knocking on the door drew his attention, not that he was surprised, his lords birds had told him who was coming to visit him before the man had even made the first step. "Your Grace," Varys bowed as he opened to door to the king. "How can I be of assistance to you?" Just because he knew that the king was going to give him a visit didn't mean that he knew the purpose of that visit.

"Gather the members of the Small Council, I have something important to discuss. And Varys, make sure that Pycelle isn't aware of the meeting." Robert ordered before he stormed off, with a very determined, and for once, sober expression on his face.

 _'No Pycelle, meaning the king doesn't want the queen, or possibly Lord Tywin learning of the meeting,'_ Varys assessed, now intrigued about what Robert was going to do. It was easy to think of King Robert Baratheon as a fool, and in most cases he was, but he occasionally he would show a glimmer of intelligence and cunning that would completely take his opponents by surprise. Simply put, when he wanted to be Robert Baratheon was unpredictable.

And considering that this day would make the third Small Council meeting that Robert had been to since he had become king gave Varys a feeling that this would be one of those days.

It wasn't hard for Varys to get the summons to the other members of the Small Council without alerting either Pycelle or the queen. The former possessed no spies while the later's were about as effective as spies as a raging bull. The question was if the remaining members of the Small Council would tell either Pycelle or the queen, unlikely since the remaining members all held disdain for the queen and Grand Maester, and vice versa. The only member who might tell the queen was Littlefinger and even that wasn't guaranteed.

 _'Now Robert, what action are you planning now?'_ Varys thought to himself as he walked towards the Small Council meeting, finding himself the third to arrive after the King and Jon Arryn. Giving a small bow to the king and the Lord Hand Varys took his usual seat.

Lord Stannis was the next to arrive. Varys did not like the lord of Dragonstone. True he was a just man, but he also bitter and harsh, a man more likely to drive people apart then inspire them. Next was Lord Renly, wearing an impeccable green tunic with his hair neatly styled, and an always present smile on his face, but behind the smiling visage was an ambitious man and Tyrell lapdog.

Finally Petyr Baelish was the last member of the Small Council to arrive. His rival had been a lot less smug these last few months, with his influence in the capital waning, especially within the city watch. Nearly two hundred members had been put in chains with most being sent to the Wall, and some outright executed, on charges of corruption, thievery and murder.

"Pycelle's not here. Good." Robert stated. "Now then, I'll get to the point of why your all here." Robert sighed and took a moment to contemplate his words. "For starters I don't want the purpose of this meeting leaving this room. That means you Renly." The King bellowed at his younger brother.

"Robert?" Renly Baratheon questioned his brother suspiciously.

"If I find out that the Tyrells learn of this meeting then I promise you that I'll make Stannis lord of Storm's End and banish you to Dragonstone." The king threatened, gathering the attention of every member of the Small Council.

"Very well Robert, I promise you I won't tell anyone about this meeting." Renly answered, almost appearing confused about the fact that the king would mention the Tyrells. At times it was almost like Renly Baratheon didn't realise just how common the knowledge of his relationship with Loras Tyrell was.

"I'm a terrible king." Robert began.

"Robert..." Jon began before he was interrupted.

"Don't bother denying Jon, I'm a terrible king." Robert snapped at his father figure. "Not that it's a terrible problem, the Targeryens had more then a few terrible kings, Maegor the Cruel, Aegon the Unworthy." _'Yet Robert doesn't mention Aerys Targeryen,'_ Varys couldn't help but note to himself. "But both were succeeded by good kings, Jaehaerys the Counciler, and Daeron the Good. Yet my heir is Joffrey." The man stated in disappointment.

"We all know the kind of person Joffrey is." Robert continued, while unnoticed by the king, both Jon and Stannis shared a glance that _was_ noticed by the other members of the Small Council. He knew that Littlefinger knew the truth but what about Renly? It was possible that the Tyrells, or more accurately the Queen of Thorns knew about Joffrey's parentage, but he didn't know for certain. Not to mention the Tyrells were as cautious as they were ambitious, it would be hard to predict what they would do if they knew the truth about Joffrey's birth. "He's sadistic and cruel and sometimes I wonder if Cersei dropped him on his head for him to be the way that he is."

 _'No Cersei dropped herself on her brother's cock nine months before Joffrey was born, that's the reason that Joffrey's the way that he is.'_ Not that Varys dared to voice his thoughts, it would likely result in his head being removed from his shoulders.

"We all know that the boy will make a terrible king, and as such I've decided to remove Joffrey's status as heir." Varys blinked once. It was surprising but nothing that was worth this secrecy, removing unworthy heirs had been done in the past and could be done again. The queen wouldn't be happy, but it wasn't as if- No, Robert couldn't be planning that. But the king had refused to let Pycelle know of the meeting, meaning that he didn't want the Lannisters to know about what was happening until it had already happened.

"And so I've decided to make Selene the heir to the Iron Throne." Robert proclaimed, shock reigning the expressions on everyone's faces. Jon Arryn was shocked and horrified, the Lord of the Eyrie was no doubt considering about how the Lannisters would react. Tywin Lannister would be furious, there was no other word for it, in fact it may even start the war much earlier beyond his plans. Baelish looked as he had swallowed a lemon, furious about the woman who had become such a thorn in his side becoming queen. Stannis was shocked, but also clearly approved of what the King. That didn't surprise Varys, the brother of the king had always cared and respected his niece a great deal. Renly however was clearly unhappy about Robert's declaration, not surprising the prancing, love struck stag had been plotting to make Margaery Tyrell queen for years.

"Robert are sure this is wise? Lord Tywin will-" Jon began before Robert, once again interrupted him.

"I don't care about Tywin bloody Lannister, I'm the king I can do what I want. That includes naming my heir." Robert snapped. "However a king cannot change his heir without either calling a great council, or the approval of at least four members of the Small Council." Robert spoke as he pulled a parchment out of his pocket. "I won't force any of you to sign it." Robert said as he slid the parchment across the table, along with a quill and ink.

Stannis was the first one to sign the parchment, followed after a few moments of hesitation by Jon Arryn. Next the parchment was passed to him. Varys didn't hesitate before writing down his name as well as his title as Master of Whisperers, before he then passed the parchment to Renly Baratheon. Renly hesitated for longer then Jon Arryn had but after about a minute he still signed the parchment.

Next the parchment was given to Littlefinger, who to a small amount of his surprise didn't hesitate for a moment before signing the parchment, no doubt already planning on ways to use the situation to his benefit.

"When do you want this letter sent to the Great Houses, your grace?" _'Your grace,'_ Jon Arryn really disapproved of the King's decision, he only ever called the king by his title when he was disappointed in him. Truthfully Varys didn't understand the old falcon's disapproval, Selene would make a much better ruler then Joffrey or even Tommen. Not to mention the Arryns had supported the Blacks during the Targeryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons.

"My daughter's only now arrived at the North, let her complete her mourning in peace. Send the declaration one moon from now." Robert ordered before he exited the Small Council chambers.

 _'You Robert Baratheon, create chaos simply for the purpose of creating chaos,'_ Varys thought to himself.

 **\- Line Break -**

A thousand miles away, and completely unaware of what her father was doing, Selene rode through the great gate of Winterfell on her horse, Ser Arys following behind her. Selene could see her uncle and cousins bowing before her as she got off her horse. Or at least her legitimate cousins. Looking around it took her a few moments to notice Jon, standing a bit further behind her other cousins.

Walking up to her uncle she spoke to him. "I'm pretty sure I told you last time I visited uncle that you didn't have to bow to me." Her uncle chuckled as he stood up, nearly half a foot taller then her.

"You did, and as I told you last time it's customary to kneel before a member of the royal family." Ned reminded her.

"And as my father would say, piss on that." She replied causing her uncle to laugh as she pulled him into a hug.

"It's good to see again Selene." Ned told her as they pulled apart.

"And you uncle." She said as she turned to her uncle's wife. "Lady Catelyn." she spoke as she bowed, the lady doing the same.

"Princess." They said no other greeting before she turned to her cousins. It wasn't that she disliked her uncle's wife, in fact she was actually a rather pleasant person (unless your name was Jon Snow), they just had very different opinions and ideas that simply prevented them from truly developing any positive or strong relationship.

"Well look who's finally grown squirt." She said to Robb as she ruffled up his hair, causing him to groan.

"I'm almost as tall as you are now." the fourteen name days old boy protested and it was true. In a couple of years Robb would most likely be taller then her, not that Selene told him that.

"Keep on dreaming Robb." She told as she turned to Sansa. "And aren't you beautiful, uncle Ned's going to have a hard time keeping the boys away from you." She told Sansa and it was true, despite only being eleven it was clear that Sansa was going to grow into a remarkably beautiful woman.

"Thank you princess." Sansa replied blushing, her lessons in etiquette to deeply ingrained to call her by her name. Sansa was a sweet girl, naive and spoilt but a sweet girl, one who of dreamed of knights and life at the royal court. Although if Selene had any say about it then Sansa would never, ever step foot in the capital, the vultures that roamed the royal court wouldn't hesitate for a second to rip her apart, quite literally in the case of Cersei and Littlefinger.

Before Selene even had the chance to say hello to Arya the girl threw herself at her, disregarding every etiquette lesson ever taught by her septa. "Hello little she wolf." Selene said to her cousin fondly who reluctantly pulled herself away from her.

"Is Brienne with you." Arya asked, wanting to see the female knight again.

"No sorry." She said with a chuckle at the disappointed look on Arya's face. "She had important business in King's Landing."

"But she's your sworn sword." Arya protested.

"She's also the commander of the gold cloaks." She informed Arya who's face turned into shock, which turned into a wide grin. As someone who wanted to become a warrior, Brienne was to Arya the sign that she could become what she wanted. Brienne was the daughter of a noble lord, yet she was one of the best fighters Arya had ever seen, so there was no reason that Arya couldn't also become a great warrior.

Kissing the top of her cousin's head Selene then greeted Bran and Rickon, the latter being too young to do any more then simply smile and say hello. After that everyone wandered off to do their own thing while Selene went over to her other cousin Jon, forced into the back of the crowds due to his bastard status. As someone who had the memories of a word where being a bastard meant absolutely nothing, she had nothing against Jon. Hell she actually preferred her bastard brother Edric Storm to Joffrey, not that it actually meant much considering just who Joffrey was but still.

"You know you really don't have to sit at the back Jon. I could care less about your bastard status." She told him.

"It's not about you though." Jon replied as he greeted her with a hug which she returned.

"No it isn't. It's about Lady Stark." She muttered under her breath. Unfortunately there was nothing that she could do. As a princess she could do a lot, change peoples opinions however was not something that she could do. "Tell me Jon, do you still plan on joining the Watch?"

"The Night's Watch is an honourable order." Jon protested, a little too loudly. Yes the Night's Watch was an honourable order, but it was now a mere shadow of its former self, and though Jon denied it, deep down her cousin knew that it was true. Selene had tried to revitalise the ancient order by sending them men and supplies from the Stormlands but the Watch was still steadily dying. In fact a hundred years from now Selene doubted that there would even be a Night's Watch. It was sad, but unfortunately true.

"True but if you wish to rise through the ranks then you need to be as good as you can be." She told him. "Ser Arys," Selene called out to her Kingsguard protector. "My cousin wishes to join the Night's Watch and so he needs to be as skilled as he can be. Test him." She ordered as she pushed Jon into the direction of the Kingsguard.

"Selene." Jon hissed at her but she just laughed at him.

"Consider this a royal order, cousin." She told him as Ser Rodrik gave the two of them sparring swords, while she found a place to sit back and watch.

Jon had possessed a decent amount of skill when she had last visited over a year ago and she was curious about how much his skills had improved. She knew that he wouldn't be able to defeat Ser Arys, who earned his position in the Kingsguard from his skill during the Greyjoy rebellion.

During the fight she noticed that while Jon was indeed outmatched and Arys wasn't trying his hardest, he wasn't exactly going easy on him either. In fact Jon was actually putting up a very good fight, his attacks were measured and he could parry Arys' blows and dodge what he couldn't. All in all Jon was showing that he was a skilled swordsman, and with the right training he could become an exceptional one.

After a duel that lasted nearly ten minutes Arys knocked Jon onto the floor. A round of applause filled the courtyard as Arys helped Jon to his feet. "So what do you think Ser Arys?" Selene questioned.

"He's a good fighter, and with the right training you will go far." Ser Arys told Jon who nodded his thanks. "Now again." The Kingsguard ordered as he readied the practice sword in hand.

Much of the rest of the day continued as that with Ser Arys testing the skills of Jon, Robb and the repulsive little shit that was known as Theon Greyjoy. Though Jon was clearly the best of all three even, even the little cunt, possessed a decent amount of skill with a sword.

After watching them for a while Selene went to her guest chambers, ordering the servants the prepare her a bath along the way. Once she was at her room she started stripping off and then got a bowl, and filled it with water, as the servants walked around the room, preparing the bath for her. Pulling apart her braided hair, she started dipping it into the water, washing it.

Once her hair was properly soaked and cleaned, and the bath ready, she immediately stepped inside it, ignoring the protests of the servants about it being too hot, as she let out a small sigh in relaxation at the warmth of the water. In truth Selene didn't really feel the impacts of the elements, at least not to the extent that most people would. The Starks weren't called the Winter kings for nothing, and the bloodline possessed a small amount of immunity to the cold. The Targeryens however were well known for their endurance and in the case of some members, outright immunity to fire. And while the Baratheons didn't possess the same immunity Selene was certain that her magic had 'awakened' for a lack of better term, several of the dormant Valyrian genes that ran through her bloodline.

After she was properly bathed Selene waited until night had fallen before she headed towards the Stark crypts, dressed only in a long white gown. In the end she was lucky for her slight immunity to the cold otherwise it would be completely freezing.

Down and down into the crypts she went, completely on her own, she had to do this alone. Further down she went until finally she found the first Stark ancestor that she wanted to honour. "Hello Mother." Selene spoke as she kneeled down before the statue of Lyanna Stark.

For twenty nights she had to pay tribute to twenty different Stark ancestors, the only requirement as it were was that the founder of the house, in the case of the Starks, Brandon the Builder, had to be the last ancestor she payed tribute to.

Walking over to the crypt where the bones of her mother was laid to rest, Selene took out a place ceremonial blade that she had brought with her and cut her palm. Letting the blood drop onto the crypt, Selene started chanting a prayer in the Old Tongue. Once the prayer was done Selene sat in a meditation pose, and remained in that position until she knew that it was dawn.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene's next month was mostly spent training in the courtyard with her cousins Robb and Jon, respectively kicking both their asses and having Ser Arys teach the two of them various techniques to improve their skills. She had also started teaching Arya the basics of sword fighting, mostly only teaching her the proper grip and stance, but still, it made the younger girl completely adore her. Of course the teaching had to be done with complete secrecy, as a princess no one could tell Selene that she wasn't permitted to train, even if she knew that the words were on the tips of the tongues on both Lady Catelyn and Septa Mordane. Arya however didn't have that luxury.

She didn't really spend much time with Sansa, Bran and Rickon, but considering the age difference between her and the later two, and the lack of common interest between her and Sansa, that didn't really surprise her that much. Though she was sad that she hadn't been able to see her uncle Benjen, his duties at the Wall preventing him from visiting. She hadn't seen her uncle since she was eleven and she first visited Winterfell.

Selene walked down deep into the crypts, for the final night of mourning. For nineteen days she had honoured the Starks that had come before her. Brandon the Burner, Theon the Bloody Wolf, King Jon I Stark who crushed the first Bolton rebellion, and the previous night she honoured her namesake, and the only recorded Queen in the North Selene Stark. Much like the Theon Stark, the reign of Selene Stark was filled with conflict, with both the Ironborn and Andals launching countless assaults on the North, believing a woman would never be able to hold the kingdom. Though she was mostly remembered as a butcher, Selene had great respect for the warrior woman that she knew her mother had named her after. After all despite her actions she had held the North, which would remain unconquered for another thousand years before the Targeryens came.

Selene continued deep into the crypts until she found the first Stark, Brandon the Builder, who had raised the Wall, Winterfell, and according to some Maesters, Storm's End as well. Selene walked to the crypt and held her left hand over the crypt as she held a knife in the other as she then cut her palm for the final time. She watched in silence as the blood dripped onto the crypt and she opened her mouth the chant the prayer but before she could her vision was filled with blinding white light, exactly the same as when she had done it to Durran Godsgrief in Storm's End.

 _Selene looked around her, instantly recognising her location. It was Storm's End, but the sight before her horrified her. She was standing on the battlements and she could see the 'White City', but it was larger, nearly three times the size it was when she left Storm's End more then four months ago, but it was in ruins. There wasn't a single structure in the land that seemed to be intact. Not to mention the entire ground was covered in snow that seemed to only enhance the dire state of the land, as a raging storm filled the sky._

 _But as heartbreaking as the sight was, it was nothing compared to the sight that greeted her when she turned around. The massive stone pillar that contained nearly every aspect of Storm's End that reached high into the sky had collapsed. There was rubble everywhere, and from the looks of it only the base of the tower, which held only the great hall looked to be somewhat intact._

 _Selene wanted to cry, but she couldn't. The tears simply refused to fall, as if they were unable. Storm's End was her home, the only place in Westeros that she actually considered home. She could barely stand King's Landing, in large part due to the deplorable state of the city, but also because the capital wasn't safe, and home was where you felt safe. She liked Winterfell, far more then she liked King's Landing, but she didn't consider it home either._

 _Slowly she walked over the battlements where she came across where the great gate within the stone wall should be, but there was nothing their. The entire section of the stone wall was demolished. Selene jumped off the battlements, instinctively knowing that the landing would not hurt her and she was proven right when her feet landed on the ground but didn't feel an ounce of pain at the impact._

 _All around her the ground was littered with bodies, but it wasn't that which drew her attention. It was the fact that most of them were rotted corpses, many of the bodies looking like they had been dead for decades, but not all of them were like that. Though the majority looked like they had been dead for along time, there was still a decent number that looked recently killed. All of them wearing sigils from houses all over Westeros, great and minor. The Stark direwolf, the Lannister lion, the Martell sun and spear, the star of Dayne, the hunter of Tarly, the falcon of the Eyrie, and of course the crowned stag of house Baratheon._

 _The sounds of a fight drew her towards what remained of the great tower, the large wooden doors to the entrance of the great hall completely destroyed. The great hall was largely the same as it was when she last saw it, except with two key differences, for starters the littered bodies on the floor. The second was the Iron Throne. On the raised platform at the end of the hall, where normally was the wooden seat for the lord of Storm's End now held the Iron Throne._

 _Of course these two things meant little compared to the fight that was taking place in the middle of the hall. There seemed to be dozen_ creatures, _for there was no other way to describe them, other then the fact that they greatly resembled the inferi that she had seen in the cave Voldemort hid his horcrux in, fighting a lone armoured woman in the middle of the room. And it was then that she realised what the rotted corpses outside were, inferi, or at least Westeros' equivalent of them._

 _The woman however she recognised almost immediately, after all she saw that woman every time she looked into the mirror. It was her, at least ten, if not fifteen years older then what she was now but it was her. She was dressed in black plated armour that covered her entire body except her face, which had two jagged scars on it, one on each cheek. She also held a weapon in each hand, in hand she had a longsword, that unless she was mistaken seemed to be made out of Valyrian steel, while in her other hand she held a large jagged looking knife that seemed to strangely enough be made out of stone._

 _Selene knew that she was a skilled fighter but watching her 'future self?' was awe inspiring. With laughable ease she seemed to cut down dozens of the inferi without getting a single hit. "I have a long way to go." She muttered to herself in regards to her future skill._

 _But despite how many were cut down more took their place and soon she saw herself surrounded by at least twenty inferi. Dropping the blades in hand future her then thrust out her hands, a wave of magic throwing the inferi onto the walls, as their bodies completely shattered on impact. It seems it wasn't only her skill with a blade that had a long way to go. If she tried doing that kind of magic now, she would pass out yet the future version of her didn't even appear winded for even a second before she picked up the blades._

 _From the broken doorway something else appeared. Not an inferi, but a being that looked human, but his skin seemed to be made out of ice and held a deep blue colour while horns littered his head, strangely enough in the shape of a small crown, and with a sword in hand that seemed to be made out of ice. "Other." She muttered in horror, as she realised that it wasn't inferi that littered the ground but wights._

 _The future her looked upon the White Walker with pure, unrefined hatred, while the Other simply looked at her in disdain. "Ours is the fury." She yelled in a battle cry as she rushed at the White Walker. What followed was a quick and brutal battle between her and the Other. As fast as she was, the creature was waster, as skilled as the was, the ice demon had little problem countering her attacks._

 _After roughly three minutes both blades were laying useless on the floor as she creature grabbed the version of her by the throat and lifted her into the air. Selene couldn't stop the gasp of horror that escaped her when the monster thrust his blade through her stomach, going through her armour like it was paper. Selene watched as the creature dropped her body and walked towards the Iron Throne, and then sat itself on it._

 _Selene couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of the White Walker on the Iron Throne, though it was better to look at the creature that sat on the throne then at her dying body. The vision of her wasn't dead yet, in fact she could see herself crawling towards the Iron Throne, trying to get to her feat. After a few tries she was able to get to her feet, pain visible on her face. The Other's blade had gone through her body, it must be agonising for her to even stand._

 _The vision of her held out her left hand, causing it to glow brightly as a blast of what could only be described as pure light shot out from her palm straight towards the Walker, he simply battered aside the blast of magic as it was nothing. Selene watched as exhaustion and injury overtook her as she collapsed to her knees, a defeated expression on her face as the Walker stood from the Iron Throne and walked towards her, and then lifted her crouched form again by the neck._

 _"Kill me Night King." She snapped through gritted teeth._

 _What happened next horrified Selene, the creature actually smiled, and then it spoke. It's voice sounding like it could freeze the entire world and actually caused her to shiver. "You are far more valuable as my queen." The Night King spoke, causing the future her eyes to widen in horror and fear._

 _Selene simply couldn't tear her eyes away from the neck where the creatures hand held her high, started to turn a deep crystal blue colour that slowly spread throughout her body, turning even the black armour she wore into a dark blue crystal. Selene willed herself to move to get a better look at what was happening and she saw her face now completely changed, but with her eyes closed. Her hair was slowly changing colour as well, turning snow white._

 _The version of her opened her eyes, and the next thing she saw was a flash of bright light._

"AGH." Selene let out a gasp of horror as she looked around her, no longer seeing herself in the ruins of Storm's End but back within the crypts of Winterfell. Selene laid there, gasping on the floor as her mind struggled to come to terms with what she had seen. "What the fuck was that?" She asked herself, staring off into he distance.

Selene didn't know how long she laid there, leaning against the crypt, it could have been an hour for all she knew before a sound finally forced her mind out of its shock. A small rumbling sound coming the wall at the back of the crypt that she was leaning against. Looking at the wall she saw it was shifting, similar to the way the Targeryen vault in King's Landing. And a lot more similar to her family vault in Gringotts.

Slowly walking through the open wall Selene gazed around her in complete shock, the horror she had felt upon witnessing the vision all but banishing at the sight before her. "Where the fuck did all this gold come from?" She asked herself.

 **End of chapter 4. Please Review.**

 **Light Lord Cybergate: If Robert didn't remarry then there would be no doubt that Selene would be the rightful heir, but Robert did meaning that according to the law Joffrey is the true heir. Also if Selene was the true heir then both Tywin and Cersei would have had her killed. Technically she is the true heir because Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella are bastards but no one knows that yet. Or maybe she would be, I'm not an expert on how inheritance works, but in this story the male 'sons' of Robert come before his daughter. Though not anymore thanks to Robert.**

 **Bella-Swan11: Very interesting idea. I hadn't actually thought about pairing Jaime with Selene. It would take a lot of work and character redemption and development but it is an idea that I am considering, although I am still undecided. There are so many potential characters to pair her with, every one will take a lot work.**

 **Azazelll: It's been done before with HP as a man, I however wanted to dry something different.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

The throne room was very packed today, Brienne couldn't help but note. Stormlanders, Westerlanders, even a few Crown, Vale and Riverlanders. Probably because the meeting had actually been called by the king. The king often left the royal court and listening to the complaints of the nobles and commoners to his Hand Lord Arryn, so the fact that the king was for once not only present but had ordered the court to gather had intriegued a lot of people, herself included.

"Any idea why the king has called the court?" Turning to the side she saw Percivel and Raymund, both dressed in the armour of gold cloaks, both of them having joined the city watch and helped her clean up the mess Slynt had left behind, as well training the new recruits.

"Not a clue." Brienne answered Raymund. It had taken her a while to warm up to the Connington, the memory of the insults his brother had given her had taken a long time for her to get over, but eventually the two of them had built a friendship with each other.

"Well, according to rumour the King has been holding secret meetings with his brothers and the Lord Hand, not telling anyone, not even the queen what they are about." Percivel said as he whispered to them.

Raymund snorted in response. "You gossip more then the old ladies in the kitchens."

"I do not." Percivel protested loudly, causing a few glares to be sent his way, not that it bothered the heir of Bronzegate one bit. Hell Brienne doubted he even noticed the glares.

"Quiet." She hissed at them as the King entered, six of the seven Kingsguard following behind him. Brienne wondered at what point the Kingsguard had become the shambles it was now. Trant was nothing more then up jumped thug who enjoyed beating children, Moore was nothing more then a killer who wouldn't blink if he as told to slit someones throat, regardless of who it was. Blount was nothing more then a coward who possessed minimal skill with a blade, which she knew from personal experience. And the less said about the Kingslayer the better.

The King sat down upon the throne, a frown on his face as he did so. Though whether that was because of the purpose of this meeting, or because of how uncomfortable the Iron monstrosity looked Brienne didn't know. She briefly wondered why so many people wanted to sit on that bloody thing, almost more trouble then it was worth in her opinion.

"I've called this meeting of the royal court to make a declaration." Robert Baratheon began, his voice booming across the great hall and gathering everyone's attention. "And after a long series of thought and contemplation, I have decided with the backing of my Small Council to name my daughter Princess Selene of House Baratheon, the heir of the Iron Throne."

Silence reigned throughout the hall, everyone to shocked to even whisper. In fact Brienne was actually gaping before she realised it and quickly closed her mouth. Of course the silence was broken by a high pitched screech that caused more ten a few people to wince.

"WHAT." Cersei Lannister screeched. Although considering the high pitch of it, it was almost hard to tell what the woman had actually said.

"You heard me blasted woman, Selene is the heir of the Iron Throne from this day onward." Robert bellowed loudly, while Cersei gave him a withering glare that would have terrified the lesser men, but the king had long since grown accustomed to the glares. Out of curiosity Brienne glanced at the _former_ crown prince. Joffrey Baratheon was literally trembling in rage, with his face creating a very interesting shade of crimson. Suffice to say the former heir of the Iron Throne looked ready to burst.

"YOU CANT DO THIS." Brienne's ears were starting to hurt.

"I'm the king I can do what I want."

"No you can't." Cersei said with a vicious smirk on her face. "You seem to forget that the crown owes house Lannister two million gold dragons. Restore my son's rightful place as the heir of the Iron Throne or my father will call in the debt you owe us."

Brienne blinked once, and then twice in confusion. She was pretty sure that Selene had told her that the Lannisters no longer held any financial influence over the crown.

After staring at his wife in confusion for roughly ten seconds Robert Baratheon burst into a loud boisterous laughter, followed quickly by his younger brother Renly, although the later was far more subdued then the king. After an entire minute of full blown laughter the king finally reigned himself in, wiping an actual tear from his eye.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" Cersei demanded, her face developing a very similar shade of red to that of her son's.

"There is no debt. That's what's funny you dumb bitch." Robert replied. No one batted an eye at the way the king addressed his wife, everyone present had heard them both call each other far worse, both in public and private. "In exchange for a reduction in taxes your blasted father agreed to cancel the debt owed to the crown, so no there's nothing you can do, nothing to threaten me with." Robert snapped at his wife. "Court adjourned." With that everyone began to leave the great hall.

"Selene's not going to like this." Brienne muttered to herself. In fact Brienne knew her friend well enough to know that she was going to pissed when the raven reached her, informing her of what had happened.

 **\- Line Break -**

Her mother's ancestors were very well organised she noted as stared at the ledgers that seemed to record nearly everything within the vault. True while a lot of the older copies were faded and illegible, the majority were accurate and well detailed. "Are you sure that you weren't aware of that vault uncle?" Selene asked her uncle as they both sat next to a desk in his solar, looking over their respective books and lodgers from the vault.

"I had no clue." Ned answered as he added up the accounts of yet another ledger. Though they had yet to discover the total amount of gold yet it was already three times the amount of gold within the Stark coffers, which after a long and prosperous summer held a very extensive amount. Ned hadn't really believed his niece when she woke him up knocking on his door in the middle of the night, but after witnessing the strange chamber with his own mind he could not deny it. "Why do you ask?"

"Because the last account added to this ledger was grandfather Rickard." Selene answered a she handed him the ledger.

"It's my father's handwriting alright." Ned nodded. "The last deposit to the vault being fifty gold dragons just a month before he went to King's Landing." An uncomfortable silence filled the air as the two of them continued their work in silence. The answer was now very simple why her uncle didn't know about the vault, her grandfather never had the chance to tell him.

"2,535,687 gold dragons and roughly 800,000 silver stags." Selene tallied, an impressive amount. A very impressive amount. Not to mention the many artifacts, jewels and ancient weapons within would likely be worth at least another half a million gold dragons. "How much is in the Stark coffers if you don't mind me asking?"

Her uncle it turned out didn't mind the question considering the ease with which he answered. "Just over 400,000 gold dragons and 300,000 silver stags."

"So nearly three million gold dragons." Selene stated. Granted it probably wasn't even half the amount of the gold that no doubt overflowed the coffers of both Highgarden and Casterly Rock, but still it was a tremendous amount of money. Selene started looking over one of the older ledgers from the vault and she couldn't help but start laughing when she saw the amount of gold that Cregan Stark had added.

"What's so funny?" Ned asked her.

"It seems Cregan Stark wasn't so willing to accept the breaking of the pact of Ice and Fire as many believe." Selene answered as she looked at the ledger that reported a large amount of gold being transferred to the vault after the end of the Dance of Dragons, with a note stating that it had come from the royal coffers. Though after the Targeryen civil war there was hardly a massive amount of gold in the dragons coffers, and that was probably the reason that no one had discovered Cregan Stark's thievery during his short tenure as Hand of the King.

"So what are you going to do with gold uncle?" Selene mind already had a few ideas on what to do with gold, but it wasn't hers, it was her uncle's.

"Well leaving it in the vault gathering dust is pretty much useless. I will have a someone fetch Robb and Jon, I'll here their thoughts on this." Selene nodded. A testing experience, she realised. Robb would be Warden of the North after her uncle while Jon would likely be given a keep of his own one day, he should know how to manage finances.

While Selene and her uncle waited for her cousins she decided to ask a question that she knew would be a sensitive topic for her uncle. "Uncle if you don't mind me asking, who is Jon's mother?" She asked, causing her uncle to look at her sharply, surprise and worry- no fear passing through his eyes before it was hidden with a firm mask.

"Why do you ask?" Ned tried to keep his voice even, but worry began to fill him. Did Selene know the truth about Jon? And if she did what would she do? Would she see Jon as her younger half brother, or would she see him as the son of a man that she hated? The only person that Ned had ever told about Jon's parentage was his brother Benjen. He had thought about telling Cat, but he never did, he just couldn't bring himself to. He simply couldn't risk Cat telling her father, and considering Hoster Tully's willingness to rise against the Targeryens simply for the promise of marriage he had no doubt that the man would turn Jon over to Robert if it would benefit the man.

"Simply curious." Selene answered as she let the matter drop. It really wasn't any of her business and she only asked because she was curious. Instead the focused her curiosity on the parchments in front of her. "That is a very ambitious plan." She stated as she handed the parchment to her uncle.

"A canal?" Ned stated in surprise as he looked over the plan his father had drew up. A canal connecting the White Knife to Torrhen's Square. It would cost a fortune and take years to build, but he could easily see the benefits that would arise from it and he quickly understood his father's reasons for it. Ned briefly considered the possibility of actually putting his father's plan into action. It would likely drain nearly the entirety of the gold found but it would certainly enrich the North, and since it would run across the centre of the North then, and within land transport then houses like Umber, Cerwyn, and of course Stark would also be able to benefit from it just as much as Northern houses that were located on the coast. Of course the canal would freeze during winter but still, the North couldn't trade with the other kingdoms during winter anyway, or at least by sea. The winter storms that plagued the North simply made it impossible. And even trade by land was perilous and only done when absolutely necessary during winter.

"It would beneft the North." Selene said.

"True." Her uncle admitted, "but it would take years for the canal to be built. Not to mention summer has already lasted six years, and is unlikely to last much longer."

"Waiting until after winter, and then starting the construction as the start of summer, would probably be better." Selene spoke. It was unlikely that summer could possibly last much longer, and if they failed to build the canal before winter, then they would be unable to do anything to further complete it. Trying to build such a thing in winter was the most stupid thing you could possibly do. "But there is no sign that summer is near it's end, not to mention that autumn would likely last two, possibly even three years before winter."

"Aye, but the problem is; where are we going to find the builders for this canal?" Ned asked as he scratched his small beard. That was the problem. There were many masons and builders in the North, but they specialised in repairing keeps, not building mile long rivers.

"That is a problem." Selene admitted scratching her head in annoyance. If they went through with her grandfather's plan then they'd need to hire specialists from Essos, likely Braavos, which would cost a fortune on top of the construction itself. It was times like this where she wished she had her full magic on command, while she wouldn't be able to build the entire thing, as powerful as she had been, she wasn't that powerful, she certainly would be able to make the job go by a lot quicker.

"So, how is the North going?" She asked curiously. The North was a very strange kingdom, filled with strange people. Unambitious and uncaring about what happens in the South so long as it doesn't bother them. The fact that the people, with the exception of the Manderlys, prayed to the Old Gods also made it unique. And as an extension far less corrupt then many regions in the South where the Faith of the Seven held sway.

"Better off, more land is being farmed and the North is being better fed, thanks to you." Ned answered as she thanked him for the compliment. "But where did you learn about these farming measures?" When Selene had told him how to 'properly farm' as she called it, he'd devoted a small acre of farmland to implement her ideas, more to humour her then anything, but when he saw the results he quickly implemented the ideas throughout the North without even really questioning it.

"Just from an experiment in the Stormlands, combining the farming measures in place with ones done by farmers in the Summer Isles." That wasn't the true reason, but it was the explanation she had used for years and it worked. The true reason stemmed from when she was Haley Potter.

When she was seven the Dursleys had decided that she should begin planting fruits and vegetables in their garden, and they didn't want a slack-off incompetent slave cough farmer, so they made her go to the library (Considering how thick they were Haley was surprised they even knew what and where the library was) and learn all she could about farming. Haley never thought she would ever put the knowledge to good use, but then again she never expected to die and be reincarnated in a medival world either.

After a few moments both Robb and Jon entered their father's solar, both looking very excited. "Is it true father? The entire castle's filled with rumours about a hidden pot of gold hidden in the crypts." Robb spoke practically giddy.

"Or a set of Valyrian steel swords and entire suits of armour also made from the same steel." Jon added just as giddy as Robb was.

"While so far we have yet to find any Valyrian steel within the vault, we have indeed found gold, and lots of it." Her uncle said to his sons. "And I would hear your thoughts on what you two think should be done with it."

After that Selene watched as the two of them suggested different ideas on what should be done with the gold. Their initial ideas were somewhat disappointing, Robb suggesting merely adding it to the coffers, which was pretty pointless while Jon said donating half of it to the Night's Watch. Giving the Black Brothers a small portion wasn't a bad idea, but giving them over a million gold dragons _was_ a bad idea, especially when the ancient order needed more then gold to revive itself. But while their initial ideas were disappointing, their other ideas were actually worth considering. Robb suggested investing the gold into Winter Town to further expand it. Her uncle had ruled the North for a good many years and the country was prospering and the population increasing, meaning there was an ample number of people who could live in a larger winter town. Jon however had suggested investing the gold into transport. The Kingsroad had fallen into a sorry state, hindering inland transportation and trade within the North.

Selene mostly stayed quiet during the discussion, simply observing and only making the odd few suggestions.

A knocking at the door drew everyone's attention from the discussion. "Pardon my lord." Maester Luwin spoke as he entered the room. "But there is a raven from King's Landing."

"From my father?" Selene questioned as Ned took the scroll from the Maester and saw the royal seal upon it.

"Uncle?" Selene questioned when she saw the genuine shock that graced her uncle's face.

"You need to read this." Ned said seriously with his face devoid of any amusement as he handed her the raven scroll.

Taking the scroll Selene read the scroll once and then twice, not quite able to fathom what it was saying. In fact she actually purposely blinked her eyes a few times as she read over it.

"What the fuck is that man thinking?" Selene snapped as she questioned her father's intelligence when he made this decision.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene was currently inside the vault looking all around her at the different artifacts and jewels. She needed to keep busy, to keep her mind off things. What the hell was her father thinking? Or perhaps the better question was what the hell had he been drinking when he made the decision the remove Joffrey as his heir and replace it with her. Not that she disagreed with his decision concerning Joffrey, more then once Selene feared what would happen when he took the Iron Throne, he would probably make Maegor the Cruel look tame.

But that did not mean he should make her his heir. Selene was ambitious, she wouldn't deny that but that didn't mean that she wanted to be queen. When she returned to the capital Selene vowed to have a very long talk with her father.

But her new found status wasn't the only thing she was worried about. Her vision had left her terrified. She didn't know if the White Walkers were still alive, but after what she had seen she'd be foolish to not prepare for it. She also needed to visit Storm's End again. There was one similarity between Storm's End and Winterfell, and that was that they were both constructed with magic, ancient spells woven into their very foundations. Albeit after eight thousand years the magic was nowhere near what it once was, but still, traces of it remained.

She had spent many years trying, and failing, to find the source of the magic within Storm's End but she never could, but after finding this vault Selene knew that she needed to double check the tombs of Storm's End again.

Selene walked over to a rack against a side wall, where a stand held three scorpion bolts. But these bolts weren't built out of iron or steel. In fact the tips of them were actually made out of dragonglass, she had seen enough of the stuff on Dragonstone to know dragonglass when she saw it, while the rest of the scorpion bolts were made out of wood. Wierwood unless she was mistaken.

There was a small piece of parchment on the rack next to the bolts. Picking it up Selene blew the layer of dust off it.

 _"My brother promised me that these bolts would be capable of slaying the dragons, and I'm inclined to believe. Despite being a Snow my brother is one of strongest greenseres within our family for decades, if he tells me it can defeat even the Black Dread then I'm inclined to believe him."_

"Torrhen Stark, the king who knelt." Selene muttered as she realised who had written this. Though scorned by many as a craven Selene held a great amount of respect for her ancestor, unlike the other kings, and Princess in the case of Meria Martell, who defied the Targeryens and suffered for it, the North emerged unscathed, and thrived. The Dornish may have resisted the Targeryens but even after nearly three centuries Dorne still wasn't, and likely never would be, as powerful as it once had been. The once powerful house of Uller being a prime example.

 _"But even if these scorpions work, we'll still have an army far greater then what the North can even amass. Never before has my family been forced to repel a united South. Maybe we'll win, maybe we won't but I won't force my people to pay the price just so my family can keep calling ourselves kings."_

If she was to sit on the Iron Throne then Selene wanted to rule like Torrhen Stark, putting the people first over herself. Selene knew that many wondered about why she actually cared about the common people and it was simple, she understood them. Selene could remember living a hard life, remember living in her cold, dark and damp cupboard. She remembered passing out from hunger when the Dursleys decided that she was being ungrateful and didn't deserve food.

She understood the life of a commoner better then the small folk themselves did.

"You know Arya you don't have to sneak in." Selene told her cousin who she knew was currently hiding behind a rack of weapons as she picked up a small emerald jewel.

"You knew I was here?" The wolf blooded girl called out as she stepped away from the rack of weapons.

"And so did Ser Arys." She replied as she gave a pointed look towards her kingsguard who was standing a few meters away from her, a bronze sword in his hands as he investigated the weapon made by the First Men.

"Really?" Arya asked the kingsguard, used to being able to escape the notice of her father's guards.

"Your quiet little wolf," Ser Arys told her smiling. "But your shoes squeak sometimes."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Arya questioned curiously. "Mother said that I wasn't allowed down here."

"Bescause you are a Stark and are more allowed to see the possessions of your ancestors." Selene replied as she picked up a small ruby. Holding it closely to the torchlight she proceeded to throw it on the floor when she realised it was fake, causing Arya to jump in shock. Ser Arys however was used to it, that was the fourth jewel she had thrown onto the floor.

"What was that for?" Arya demanded.

"It was a fake." She replied. Many lords and wealthy merchants had long since tried to gain her favour with gifts, which included jewels, most of which were actually fake. Suffice to say she had become rather adept at telling what jewels were real and what ones were merely coloured Myrish glass.

"What are these?" Arya asked as she walked over towards an open crate. "They look like arrowheads." She said as she picked up a dark blueish, almost black glittering rock that was shaped as an arrow.

"Dragonglass, or obsidian as some call it." Selene answered as she walked towards another crate with a crowbar in hand. Using it she pried the crate open, or at least tried to do. Selene let out a grunt as she pushed down the crowbar, unsuccessful in opening the box.

"Need any help?" Arys asked her.

"All yours." She said to the kingsguard, as he used the crowbar, and in two tries was able to open the crate. "Show off." She said to him as he smirked at her.

"Though I really have no idea what these are." Ser Arys spoke as he frowned at the contents within the crate.

"Neither do I." Selene admitted as she picked up one of the strange small spheres that filled the crate. There had to be dozens of them inside it. They weren't very large, only filling the palm of her hand and they too were also made out of dragonglass. But the thing that really made her suspicious about the spheres was the fact that she could sense magic from within the sphere.

Selene was really starting to get frustrated with the magic in Westeros. Or the lack of it. There were absolutely no traces of it anywhere in Westeros, except in castles like Winterfell, Storm's End and Dragonstone. There were also no records of magic either, it denounced by both the Maesters and the Faith of the Seven. Not even the vault within King's Landing held any magical tomes within them, only prophecies, and records on Valyrian culture and infrastructure, fascinating but in the end not necessarily valuable.

Either it was possible that the knowledge of magic had been forgotten, which had happened to several branches of magic in her last life such as Celtic and Pagan magics. The fact that the Targeryens were only minor dragonlords as opposed to greater ones, meaning that they didn't have access to the powerful magics of the other dragonlords would also explain the lack of magical Targeryens. For a family that controlled dragons and openly committed incest she really doubted that they would have hidden magic if they had it.

Or worse, the knowledge of magic had purposely been destroyed. The fact that Visenya Targeryen, one of the few members of that bloodline that Selene actually held genuine respect for, and her son Maegor were both said to be powerful sorcerers also grave credit to that belief. The fact that they were unable to hatch any more dragons actually worried her. The fact that between century and a half between the Conquest and the Dance of the Dragons that the dragons slowly became smaller and weaker was certainly something to consider.

Selene needed answers, but the question was where could she get them from?

"What are these marks?" Arya asked, pulling her from her thoughts. Looking where Arya was pointing at she saw that underneath the lid the Arys had pulled off were runes written on it.

"That is the Old Tongue." Selene answered as she crouched before the lid.

"Can you read it?" Arya asked her.

"Some of it." She answered as she trailed her fingers over the runes. They were incredibly faded and mostly illegible, but a few of them were clear.

"And?" Her cousin probed.

"To be used alongside the Children once again when the time comes."

"The Children?" Ser Arys asked now intrigued. "I thought they were meant to be myth."

"More likely they simply went extinct instead of actually being a myth." Selene voiced her thoughts. The Children of the Forest were also something to consider. The Andals had wiped out the ones that lived south of the Neck, but what had happened to those who dwelled within the North, were they killed off, or did they flee?

"How long before the feast starts?" Arya questioned. Normally any talk about the Children fascinated her, but the look on Selene's face was actually rather unnerving. It was a look of deep concentration and questioning.

"A couple of hours." Selene answered as she stood up. The strange ball still in her hands.

 **\- Line Break -**

If there was one similarity between Northerners and Stormlanders it was that they both knew how to through a party, Selene couldn't help but note as she drained another jug of wine, currently in a drinking contest with Smalljon Umber. Though why he was called Smalljon she had absolutely no idea considering the fact that he was well over six foot.

"I didn't realise a pretty little southern girl would be able to hold her drink." Smalljon spoke as he slammed the bottle back onto the table as it was refilled.

"Less talking, more drinking." Selene replied as she picked up her now filled up glass but just she brought it to her lips she smirked at the man opposite her. "Besides I don't think that you can call anyone little, can you 'small' Jon." She said with emphasis on the small, causing more then few around them to hoot in laughter.

"OHH, is that so princess." Smalljon challenged.

"Yes so. Now down in one." She replied as the two of them drained another glass, their eighth so far.

"You know you really don't have much of a chance of beating me." Selene told the swaying Umber seated opposite her when they finished their tenth glass of ale. Selene had a massive tolerance of alcohol, not to mention occlumency training. While she never had the chance to truly master the mind arts in her last life, in large parts thanks to that prick Snape, she had learnt enough to clear her mind and to keep her focused.

"I've drank with my father, seasoned veteran Stormlanders, arrogant Reachers-" Selene boasted, not appearing at all phased by the large about of alcohol consumed as the heir of Last Hearth interrupted her.

"Stop talking." Smalljon bellowed as he picked up the eleventh cup, swaying to the point that she knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer.

"And the Red Viper of Dorne himself, Oberyn Martell." Selene continued as she drained the eleventh glass. Smalljon copied her and slowly placed the empty jug back onto the table. For a moment it appeared as though the Umber would be able to continue drinking, before he collapsed onto the floor.

Cheering filled the area as two people dragged the unconscious man away. "I didn't think anyone could out drink an Umber." One of the Karstark brothers, Torrhen she believed his name was, said with a small amount of awe.

"You've never met me Karstark." She told him. "So who's next?" She challenged.

"I am." Alysanne Mormont, the second daughter of Maege Mormont the ruler of Bear Island spoke as she sat next to her.

"Bring it." Selene told her smiling. Selene had hard times ahead of her. She was to be the future queen, she was going to have to deal with the Lannisters, the Martells, the Targeryens and maybe even the White Walkers, but for now she was just going to have some fun.

 **\- Line Break -**

As a child he had been told by nearly everyone that he was a monster. In fact if it wasn't for his brother and uncle Gerion he probably would have believed it to be the truth. Whenever he would become angst filled, and dangerously depressed the two of them would remind him that he wasn't a monster, just a child that was born with an affliction that he had no control over, just as how he had no control over his mother's death. Of course for every kind word his brother and uncle gave him, his father and sister were sure to give at least three that weren't. No matter what he did, nothing would ever please those two, as a child it had made him heartbroken, now Tyrion wasn't at all bothered by the way his family viewed him. He was indifferent to most of them, oh his uncles Keven and Tygett were kind to him, along with his aunt Genna, but they treated him more like one would treat a pet rather then a family member.

One would think that with Jaime in King's Landing and his uncle Gerion missing and beleived to be dead that life at Casterly Rock would be very unpleasant, but the opposit was the truth. Ever since his sister had become queen life at the Rock had become far more pleasant, even more so by the fact that due to his duties as Warden of the West his father was often too busy to bother with his dwarf of a son. The fact that Casterly Rock was so fucking huge meant that he could easily spend weeks at a time in the same castle as his father but not actually interact with him certainly helped.

Tyrion was currently in Casterly Rock's library, a series of books before him all about the rules of inheritance, for the Andals, First Men, and even the Iron Born, with another few books detailing the inheritance for specific regions in Westeros, and of course the Iron Throne itself.

His newfound curiosity was due to the raven that arrived four days. Never before had Tyrion ever seen his father so angry. The great Tywin Lannister had been enraged to the point that he had destroyed his solar in his rage. The only other time Tyrion had ever seen his father anywhere near as angry was when Victarion and Euron Greyjoy had destroyed the Lannister fleet. That alone had tempted Tyrion to send a raven to Selene Baratheon thanking her for causing his father such rage. He almost wished he would have been able to see his sister's reaction. He had no doubt it would have been hilarious.

But still Tyrion was very curious about what the king had done and how he had made it legal. In the North, the eldest son inherited, and then the eldest daughter if their was no sons. For most of the South, every male member inherited before the female, for example a lords brother would inherit before a lords daughter. And in Dorne the eldest inherited regardless of gender. After the Dance of the Dragons the Targeryens had changed their laws of inheritance so that they were more akin to that of the Souths, as opposed to that of the North.

For most of the kingdoms of the South that was how inheritance worked, but their was an old law in the Stormlands, when it had been an independent kingdom, that allowed a king with the approval of his councilors to remove unworthy heirs, the very law that King Robert had used to remove Joffrey as his heir and replace him with Selene. If Joffrey didn't classify as an unworthy heir then Tyrion would eat all the gold in the Westerlands. Although the most ironic thing was that if Tyrion's suspicions about his sibling was true then Selene already was the rightful heir.

"Tyrion." A voice called him. Looking up he saw his uncle Kevan in the library. His uncle looked a tad raged, no doubt being the one to out up with his father's anger. "What are you reading?" His uncle asked him curiously.

"Laws of inheritance." Tyrion answered his uncle. "Specifically about the Stormlands."

"Anything interesting?" Kevan asked, though whether out of genuine curiosity or a desire to find a loophole in what Robert had done he didn't know. Though Tyrion suspected the later.

"Well I found the law King Robert used to make Princess Selene the heir to the Iron Throne." He told his uncle as he passed him the book.

Keven Lannister took the book and quickly read over the page. Turning the page Tyrion saw his uncle's eyes widening in shock before a pleased expression etched itself on his face. With barely a word of goodbye his uncle left the library, with the book in his hand.

Out of a desire to find out what else that book contained Tyrion had decided to have dinner with his father and uncle as opposed to eating in his chambers like he normally did. Tyrion knew better then to question his father outright, he'd be given a cold dismissal at best, but he could observe him. One thing he noticed was that his father was smug, very smug to the point that not even the presence of his hated son had been able to damper his mood.

It would be another three days before he got the book back and when he did Tyrion felt guilt. He wasn't used to feeling guilt, after all he'd done very little to feel guilty about but what he had, albeit indirectly and unintentionally, done caused him guilt. An heir who had lost their inheritance could demand a trial by combat to reclaim it.

The interesting thing about this law was that while the disinherited heir could elect a champion to fight on their behalf, the new heir had to fight them self, in order to prove themselves strong enough to claim the crown that technically belonged to someone else. Considering Robert had used the law to make Selene his heir, then Joffrey could use the very same law to demand a trial by combat otherwise what Robert had done wouldn't be legitimate.

Which led to the reason of his guilt. If Selene Baratheon wished to be queen then she would have to defeat 'Ser' Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that rides.

 **End of chapter 5. Please Review.**

 **Also for the next chapter I was planning on Selene either returning to the capital or going north of the Wall and finding the Children of the Forest and the Bloodraven, what do you all think that she should do, because I've got ideas for both of the options.**

 **Arianna Le Fay: I honestly have considered giving her a dragon. I've never seen a story where a Baratheon actually has a dragon which is strange because they probably have more Valyrian blood in their veins then any family bar the Targeryens themselves. She will definitely have a direwolf though, possibly even in the next few chapters, although I might wait until this story is at Season 1 point, even if it already is heavily AU.**

 **Basker: As amusing as pairing Selene and Jon would be, especially when they learnt of their relation, I already have a pairing in mind for both of them, not to mention I doubt Ned would allow it knowing that they are siblings. As for Raymund he will only play a very minor role in this story as he isn't who Selene ends up with. The best way to describe their relationship would be friends with benefits. As for Aegon, truthfully I believe the Blackfyre theory as well, but in this story Aegon is a Targeryen, and the Martells are more then aware that their nephew survived the sack of King's Landing.**

 **LaurelGrace: Don't worry, I have no idea what I was thinking when I did the Elenei and when I started writing what would have been chapter 5, I just found it very corny and stupid.**

 **Sinnerlust: As for why Jon disapproves of Robert's decision, it's not because she's a woman or because of his honour, you can't survive a place like King's Landing for so long and not do a few questionable actions. Jon Arryn spent his entire time as Hand trying to keep the peace, and now Robert's done something that could potentially start a war with the Westerlands.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

Arron groaned slightly as he got out of bed, the sun rays waking him from his slumber. Slowly he pushed himself out of bed over to desk that had a bowl of water on it, and washed his face, removing the last traces of sleep. As he got dressed he couldn't hel but glance at his appearance in a nearby mirror on the wall. Short cut dirty blonde hair with chiseled features, a lightly trimmed beard, with a lightly tanned skin from spending most of his life in Dorne, though he wasn't naturally tanned, not following his Dornish blood. Though he didn't actually follow his Valyrian blood either, his purple eyes being the only indicator that he was a decendent of the dragon lords of old Valyria.

A strange mix of Dornish and Valyrian. He was Arron Sand, the only bastard son and male Sand Snake of Prince Oberyn Martell, born of a Valyrian prostitute in Lys, or so everyone believed.

Arron let out a loud yawn, he was tired, very tired. Truthfully he hand't been sleeping that well lately. He'd been having strange dreams lately, ones that made absolutely no sense at all. In fact he even kept a journal of everything he'd dreamed. Some members of his family mocked him for it but he didn't care, because he knew that their was more to these dreams then met the eye, although they greatly confused. Only two nights ago he'd dreamed of a stag prancing around what looked like a small mountain.

Arron exited his chambers and walked down a series of steps to the breakfast table, where a couple of the girls were already eating food. His uncle Doran had sent him to Tyrosh to oversee some of the families businesses and to gain an understanding of finance and economy. Of course it had been his father's idea of a joke that he should instead manage one of House Martells whorehouses in Tyrosh.

As he sat down at the table he couldn't help but notice that one of the girls were missing. "Where's Lucy?" He asked the assembled girls. The girls shared worried looks with each other.

"Garin and Daemon brought her in an hour ago." One of them, Stacy informed him. "She was hurt pretty badly."

Immediately Arron stood up and marched towards Lucy's room and opened the door, horrified by the sight that greeted him. 'Pretty badly' did not cover it. Lucy's face was no longer the pale wight but instead red and blue and one of her eyes even appeared to be swollen shut, Garin treating her as she slept while Daemon stood to the side of the room. Garin was one of the orphans of the Greenblood while Daemon was his father's former squire and a bastard of House Allyrion. The two of them were good friends pf his and also served as his guards.

"Quiet." Garin snapped at him. "She's finally got to sleep and is getting some much needed rest."

"What happened?" He whispered furiously at them.

"Ironborn." Daemon muttered with complete and utter loathing.

"Everything." He told them to explain.

"Apparently one of Victarion Greyjoy's men wanted to have a go at her but she told him he had to pay upfront," Daemon began explaining as rage filled his voice. "He didn't like that and began beating her black and blue."

"Did he..." He began asking, not quite avle to finish the sentence.

"No." Garin spoke and relief filled him. "At that point Daemon and I arrived and Daemon took his head off."

"Follow me." He told them.

"Where are we going?" Daemon asked.

"To find Victarion Greyjoy, and make him pay."

"How are we even going to get money off an Ironborn?" Garin asked him as they walked through Tyrosh towards one of the minor and less populated ports of the Free City. The Greyjoys wouldn't risk going to one of the more populous ports, even in the Free Cities the Ironborn were despised.

"Simple. You ask him for it." Arron told him. "Garin get a clear spot, Daemon sneak around them." He ordered them.

Arron walked towards the Ironborn captain immediately scanning the area around him. He counted ten Ironborn in the immediate area. For a captain like Victarion Greyjoy this seemed an unusually small number, but then again Ironborn rarely liked to leave their ships. With a nod to Daemon and Garin to get in position Arron started walking towards the captain of the Iron Fleet. A part of him was nervous, after all Victarion was a large man and a skilled reaver, he would be a fool to not be wary of him, but he was also angry, a fire like fury in him that wanted to see the Ironborn punished.

"What do you want?" Greyjoy demanded as he noticed him walking towards them.

"A girl called Lucy. A few of your friends decided that you could do what you wished." Arron reminded the Ironborn, although most of them didn't seem to care, and actually laughed at the reminder.

"She was a whore, what about her?" Victarion questioned, not really caring about what his men did to some random whore.

"You see she's a friend of mine," Arron informed them as he walked closer to Victarion who stood up to face him, although while the man had a large two bladed axe nearby he didn't appear to have any weapons on his person. Arron knew that speed would be his best advantage against him and that he would have to act fast. "And you are gonna sort her out."

"What do you mean by that?" Victarion questioned as he looked him over and then seemingly dismissed him. Arron knew why, he appeared unarmed to the Ironborn, but like all decent Dornishment Arron knew how to conceal weapons perfectly.

"Your paying, and then your leaving Tyrosh." He told them.

One of the Ironborn muttered something that Arron couldn't quite catch but it caused a few of them to chuckle.

"No one's talking to you sweetheart," Arron said to the Ironborn, though he didn't take his eyes off Victarion. "You sit their and be quiet otherwise I'll have to put an arrow in your lard loving thigh." He warned what was probably Victarion's first mate.

The Ironborn, Ralf Kenning though he doesn't know his name, simply laughs in response to the threat and at that moment Garin releases an arrow right into the man's lard loving thigh.

With a speed that would have made the Red Viper proud Arron withdrew a dagger then he'd concealed in the sleeves of his shirt and rushed at Victarion Greyjoy and pushed him to the floor and held a knife to his throat before the man could. At the same time Daemon rushed at three of the Ironborn warriors and very quickly disarmed them, with a speed and skill that showed that he truly was one of Dorne's greatest swords.

"Get back." Arron bellowed at the Ironborn as he held the blade to their captains throat, while his face was going red, out of anger or humiliation he didn't know. Likely both.

Victarion was tempted to wrestle his way out of this, it was clear that while this boy was no doubt strong he had no doubt that he could overwhelm the boy. But clearly the boy knew that as well as he pushed the knife into his neck, prickling him as a warning that should he struggle he would have his throat slashed right open. Victarion was no coward, but such a humiliating death would in no way earn him a passage to the Drowned Gods watery halls.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving, but I'm leaving with a years wages." He told the Iron Captain as he pulled the man's rather large coin purse from him. "And in case you have any notions of revenge, remember that you live only because of the mercy of a greenlander, but I will not show mercy a second time." He warned him as he walked away from the enraged Ironborn, Daemon following close behind hum.

Victarion felt like snarling as he watched the arrogant young bastard walk away, a bag of gold in his hand, as the two men with distinct Dornish appearances followed him. He had been humiliated by a boy who looked no older then eighteen namedays, if he was even that.

"Captain what do we do now?" His first mate, Ralf asked him as he removed the arrow that was sticking out of his thigh.

"We kill them." He answered.

 **\- Line Break -**

Arron, Garin and Daemon were on a small village on the other side of the Island of Tyrosh, conducting business with a Dornish merchant ship. Every three weeks they met the same merchant captain in his uncle Doran's employ who kept them informed on the affairs of Westeros. And a lot had certainly happened in the last few weeks.

Apparently the Usurper had decided to scorn his Lannister brat in favour of his Stark daughter. Arron was surprised that the Lannisters hadn't already declared war on the Baratheons, but by all accounts the Old Lion was biding his time. The answer was simple enough to understand after he thought about it, the Lannisters may be the most powerful house in Westeros but they weren't more powerful then the rest of Westeros combined. The Lannisters had married into the Baratheon- Stark- Tully- Arryn alliance formed during the war but that alliance was more likely to support Selene Baratheon due to her blood ties to the Starks and the Stark- Tully marriage. Though he knew that it would only delay those lion bastards for a short time.

After the Dance of the Dragons Arron wouldn't have thought that any king would try name a daughter over any legitimate sons, but it seemed that Robert Baratheon had. As a result Arron was very curious about the Usurper's daughter. Unlike his cousins and the rest of the Sand Snakes he never had a chance to meet her when she had visited Sunspear over a year ago, having been in Myr at the time. Though from his uncle's reports she was a woman who believed in justice and the death of Elia Martell was apparently a large wedge in the relationship between the Usurper and his daughter. That alone gave him some respect for her.

As he walked through the village a loud bell sounded, alarming everyone. "Pirates." Someone yelled as they rushed away and panic ensured and Arron could see a group of armed men heading straight towards them.

"No, Ironborn." Arron said as he, Daemon and Garin all drew their swords along with over a dozen men with all sorts of weapons of their own, not at all willing to the let the murdering skum destroy their homes without a fight.

What followed was without a doubt a bloody battle and Arron acted completely on instinct. He slashed and charged, managing to kill one Ironborn relatively quickly, and he didn't have a chance to focus on it as he was once again forced into another fight.

Arron didn't know how much time had passed, he'd managed to kill at least four Ironborn, though not without injury. He could feel blood poring down his face from a gash above his eye and his left arm was killing him due to a large wound.

"Boy," A loud voice called to him and looking he saw Victarion Greyjoy glaring at him with pure hatred. "We have an issue to settle." The Iron Captain told him as he charged right at him, swinging his massive double bladed axe.

Arron was a good warrior but against the massive Ironborn he was greatly outmatched. Arron fought as well as he could, taking great pride as he managed to slash at Greyjoys side and cause him to grunt in pain. But the wound was a mere flesh one and Greyjoy shrugged it off like it was nothing.

The battle soon took a turn for the worse when Greyjoy managed to knock the sword out of his hand. Weaponless Arron was forced to back away into what looked like an outdoor blacksmiths workshop as he franticly looked around for a weapon, not that it stopped Victarion from chasing him. Arron grabbed a chain from a nearby bend, and much like Nym used her whip, he used to strike at Victarion, even managing to take his axe from him, though at the loss of the chain, which left him defenceless before the enraged Ironborn.

Victarion smirked as he grabbed hold of the brat, and then forced his head onto a burning furnace, looking forward to the screams of pain that would soon emerge, but they never did.

Arron closed his eyes as his face hit he furnace, but relief like nothing he had ever felt before filled him as he felt no pain. _'It seems its true, fire cannot kill a dragon,'_ Arron thought with a smirk as he felt Vicatrions grip loosen in surprise. Taking advantage he quickly grabbed his dagger from his belt and drove into Victarion's stomach, the poison on the blade immediately pumping through the man's body.

Vicatarion howled in agony as he backed away, pain coursing through his body like nothing he had ever felt and it was at that moment he realised what it was. Poison.

Arron picked up the discarded battle axe and prepared to take the Ironborn's head. "If I am to die tell me who you are greenlander?" Victarion snarled.

"I am Aegon Targaryen, and I sentence you to die."

 **\- Line Break -**

Yara walked through the halls of Ten Towers, desperate to speak to her uncle, the only sane one that she actually had. Word had reached the Iron Islands of her uncle Victarion's death. When they first heard of his death many had scoffed at the idea of a veteran and skilled reaver like Victarion Greyjoy being killed in some nameless shit village in Essos. Some, such as Damphair, whispered that he had been killed by her other uncle Euron.

That Yara honestly found more believable then the truth. The fact that the captain of the Iron Fleet had been killed by a boy, who was six and ten name days, younger then she herself was, was something hard to comprehend.

Yara wasn't bothered by her uncle's death. True the loss of such a respected and capable commander was a blow to the Ironborn but in the end Victarion was an obstacle in her path to claiming the Seastone chair. The biggest obstacle in fact. She was all but confirmed as her father's official heir; Theon was seen as nothing but a greenlander, Euron was banished, while Aeron was a member of the Drowned Priests and unable to sit the Seastone chair. Victarion was the only one who not only could have challenged her but likely would have won.

Yara entered her uncle's private library, without a doubt the largest library in the Iron Islands, maybe even one of the largest in Westeros. Her uncles title of 'The Reader' was well earned, she noted as she saw him sitting by his desk, a large book in front of him and pair of Myrish glasses over his eyes. "Uncle." She greeted as she took a seat opposite him.

"Yara, what brings you here?" Rodrik asked as he looked up from his book to his niece.

"I was wondering if you heard the news?" Yara asked her uncle, who snorted slightly at the question.

"Hermits on Lonely Light have no doubt heard the news of your fool of an uncle's death." The Reader told her.

"You are a hermit." Yara japed with smile. "You spend so much time with your books that hermit is just one of many titles you have."

"I could care less what the fools on these islands call me."

"Doesn't change the fact that getting away from these books will do you good." She replied back.

"Ah Yara," her uncle said tutting slightly. "Much like your father and brothers you underestimate the value of books." Rodrik replied. "But you didn't come here to talk about my books. Why are you here?"

"Father has always been waiting for the Seven Kingdoms to be vulnerable enough to declare independence, but things have changed."

"How so?" Rodrik questioned, not because he didn't know but because Yara knew he was testing her.

"Being bested is one thing, being bested on the seas is another. The Baratheons shattered the myth of our fleets invincibility, and while it has been rebuilt it isn't the only one. My father called himself king yet he didn't fight in a single battle, many privately call him coward and it was Victarion who kept the unruly in line. Then their's Euron's banishment. The Crow's Eye may be a mad dog but he was a clever mad dog, who's responsible for our only victory in the rebellion." Yara listed just a few problems facing House Greyjoy. Individually it wasn't worrying, but combined those factors spelled trouble.

"My father believes that we can amass 200 war galleys and 600 longships, manned with 20,000 reavers. I say 100 war galleys, 400 longships and 15,000 reavers being generous. I'm here uncle because I want your advise." Yara admitted. Yara considered herself a realist, and while she liked the idea of an Iron Kingdom once again she was smart enough to know that such a thing would likely never happen.

"The Baratheon girl." Rodrik stated.

Yara raised an eyebrow at that, genuinely surprised by Rodrik's answer. She only knew of Selene Baratheon by reputation. "Why her? She's half Stark and Theon is fostered with the Starks. I see no reason why she should want me to rule Pyke as opposed to my brother?"

"The Baratheons have lost the support of Casterly Rock. If a war breaks out between the lions and the stags, she can't turn down 15,000 Ironborn ready to burn the coast of the Westerlands." Rodrik answered logically.

"So your idea is to be a thrall to someone who likely needs me more then I need her?" Yara questioned feeling far from satisfied with her uncle's solution. "To bend the knee to her?"

"If their's one lesson that your father has given you that I agree with it's that their is no shame in bending the knee if it means rising again harder and stronger. As for being a thrall. Well Harlaw has been a thrall to House Greyjoy, and before them the Hoares for millennia, yet we remain the richest house on the Iron Islands by far. One doesn't need to be king to be powerful. A lesson you would do well to learn if you wish to avoid the same fate as your brothers, the fate your father is planning on heading down once again, and I doubt the Baratheons will allow him, or the rest of House Greyjoy to rise again if they don't have any type of ally in you."

With that Rodrik went back to reading his book and Yara exited her uncle's library, recognising the dismissal. Yara tried to think of what she knew about Selene Baratheon but her mind came up with very little. But the more she thought about it the more she realised the logic in her uncle's words. Yara needed allies, both within and outside of the Iron Islands.

The Lannisters were out of the question, the burning of their fleet and the sacking of Lannisport by her uncles would likely earn her a slow and painful death if she tried to approach the Old Lion. The Tyrells were also out of the question. Yara knew that in order to gain their support she would need to marry one of the fat flowers sons, and while they would support her claim to Pyke, it would be the Tyrells who ruled, while she simply sat on the Seastone chair.

The Martells might be willing to work with her. It was obvious the Martells had a plan for revenge against the Lannisters, and due to their laws and customs they would probably be willing to support her claims to Pyke. While she would likely have to marry one of Prince Doran's sons, at least neither had a reputation for sword swallowing and neither were crippled like lord Tyrells sons.

And then there was the Baratheons. Selene Baratheon was in all but name the ruler of the Stormlands, with Renly Baratheon preferring the court of Highgarden and the Tyrells rather then his own castle of Storm's End and interacting with his bannermen. The Stormlands had also been steadily growing stronger ever since her banishment to the ancient fortress of Storm's End. No longer buying food from the Reach, and with large numbers of people from King's Landing migrating to the Stormlands expanding their settlements. And recently reports had indicated that they had began building their own fleet, an easy task with two of the three largest forests in Westeros located in their lands.

It wasn't an easy choice but in the end Yara decided to get into contact with Selene Baratheon. Not that it would be difficult to do so. King Robert had already announced a feast welcome to all lords of the realm to celebrate his daughter when she returned from the North, though by all accounts that would likely take a good few months. And while a Greyjoy might not necessarily be welcome they could hardly refuse her.

Yara smiled as thoughts of sitting the Seastone chair filled her mind.

 **\- Line Break -**

Eddard watched the honestly vicious duel between Rodrik Forrester and his niece Selene. Many Northern sons and heirs, and daughters in the case of Dacey and Alysane Mormont had taken to challenging his niece to duels over the last few days, and so far none had been able to beet her. A couple had come close to defeating her such as Smalljon Umber and Dacey Mormont but they hadn't quite been able to best her. Rodrik Forrester however was exceptionally skilled and the ferociousness that the two traded blows with each other honestly left it difficult to tell who would emerge as victor.

"She fights as someone who's seen combat." Ned couldn't but state.

"That's because she has." Turning he saw Ser Arys a few steps behind him. Ned could remember Robert knighting Arys during the Greyjoy rebellion for his bravery and for slaying Maron Greyjoy and in the aftermath of the battle Arys asked for place in the Kingsguard when Robert offered him anything he wished. He had been worried about how Theon would react to Ser Arys, but no incidents had occurred so far. Either Theon wasn't aware that it was Ser Arys who had killed his brother or he didn't blame him. Ned suspected the former.

Ned really wasn't entirely sure what to think of Ser Arys, though he had no doubts about his skill with a blade and his loyalty, he wasn't sure about the man as he was rather young. Barely nineteen namedays when Robert made him a member of his Kingsguard so the man wasn't the most experienced member of its order. Although in her own words Selene said that of the current seven kingsguard she only trusted Sers Barristan, and Ser Arys. Sers Presten, Meryn and the Kingslayer were all loyal to the Queen, Ser Boros was apparently a coward and according to Selene Ser Mandon Moore was loyal apparently to no one, or at least not any member of the Royal family as far as his niece was aware off.

"What do you mean by that?" Ned questioned sharply.

"The Stormlands are often plagued with slavers and pirates from the Stepstones, and even a few of the Free Cities and the princess is hardly someone to stand by and do nothing when she can make a difference." Arys replied, and thinking about it Ned could't actually picture Selene standing aside and doing nothing.

"How come your standing up here instead of down their?" Ned asked gesturing towards the courtyard. To Ned's amusement Ser Arys actually blushed.

"Hiding from your daughter and her friends." Arys answered and realisation dawned on Ned.

"Ah." Ned simply stated. Sansa and her little group of friends still had dreams of knights and fair maidens, and Ser Arys was a knight of the Kingsguards and an admittedly comely man, someone that would attract the attentions of his daughter. A part of Ned wanted to shake the ideas of knights and songs out of his daughter's head and more then once he felt like cursing that horrid Septa Mordane, but then he reminded himself that her daughter was only eleven years old, and it was not a large concern at the moment if she believed in songs and fairy tales, she would mature as she got older.

Ned turned back to his niece just to see her getting knocked down to the ground by Rodrik but she was quickly on her feet again before the heir of Ironrath could end the duel between them. "It's a close one." Ser Arys stated.

"It is. Who do you think will win?"

"She will. Forrester's got good form and considerable strength and speed, but the princess has stamina. If she can't beet him through skill then she'll simply wait for him to exhaust himself." Arys answered, showing considerable knowledge of combat.

Ned could tell that Ser Arys was right, Rodrik's blows were becoming steadily sluggish and clearly starting to lack in power. Selene like a wolf noticing a weakened pray pounced for the kill. Launching a campaign of blows that were mere blurs to the eye, Selene quickly but Rodrik on the defensive. After failing to go back on the offensive, Rodrik attempted to put some distance between them by backing away but Selene clearly wasn't allowing that to happen as she continued her assault, quickly knocking the sword out of Rodrik's hand and holding her blade up to his throat before sheathing it as the courtyard exploded in cheers.

Most young men would not like being bested, especially by a woman younger then them but clearly Rodrik Forrester wasn't one such man as he and Selene engaged in a discussion with each other, both going over each other's styles while other Northerners, many Selene had bested in combat while being in Winterfell, including Jon and Robb joined them.

"Lord Stark, there was actually something that I wanted to speak to you about," Ser Arys started and Ned gestured for him to continue. "I wish to take your son Jon as my squire."

"Can I ask why?" Ned asked in an even voice, quite an achievement considering the alarm that was coursing through his body at the request.

"Well for starters his skill. He's more skilled then I was at fourteen, and I truly believe that he could be one of the best swordsmen in Westeros with the proper training." Ser Arys began. "Second I know of his desire to join the Night's Watch. There's nothing wrong with that," Arys stated quickly so that he didn't the wrong idea. "But Jon seems intent on joining the order as soon as he comes of age, maybe even before that. I don't regret joining the Kingsguard, and I serve the princess proudly, but sometimes I wish that I spent more time to enjoy my life outside of duty before I joined. I don't want Jon to make a decision that will impact the rest of his life when he is still a child, especially if it is a decision that he may come to regret."

Ned was silent for a few moments as he contemplated what the kingsguard said. "Have you spoken to either Jon or Selene about it?"

"The princess approved of the decision, but I've yet to speak to Jon. I wanted to ask you first."

Ned thought about Arys' offer. He did not like the idea of Jon going South, where the risk of his heritage wold be far more likely to be revealed, and if that were to happen Ned really couldn't predict what could happen. But though he wished too, he couldn't deny the logic within Ser Ars Oakhearts words.

"I'll inform Jon of your offer, and it will be up to him if he wishes to accept." He told the kingsguard.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene sat in her chambers, a large book in her hands. It was one of the many tomes from the vault, but this one was different. Most of the books were about the deeds of Starks long since passed, this one however was about magic. For the first time since she was born in Westeros she had honest to the Seven proof that magic had indeed existed.

The book was about the Children of the Forest, a description of them and their abilities. The book also held a few very detailed drawings of the children, that were very intriguing. Many maesters, those who acknowledged their existence at least, believed the Children to be a race of dwarfs, which would explain the Faith of the Seven's negative stance on dwarfs. Selene personally believed that they were likely similar to House elves. The book proved both her and the maesters wrong.

The Children appeared to possess rather sharp and pointed features, with large eyes and delicate frames, and though she couldn't completely tell from the faded picture they appeared to also dress in sticks and thin pieces of wood curved around their bodies. But their physical appearances meant little to her when the book explained in remarkable detail about the magic that the Children wielded.

The Children had used a form of ritualistic magic, often doing spells in groups and pooling their power in order to make their spells more effective. They also used Dragonglass in a lot of their spells. In fact the small dragonglass spheres that she had discovered actually acted as something akin to hand grenades, although Selene didn't even recognise the spell used to activate the spheres. The spell wasn't written in any language that she recognised, not Valyrian, the Old Tongue or even the common tongue.

Selene attention was drawn from her book as she heard muffled voices from outside her chambers.

"Princess, Lady Stark is here to speak to you." Ser Arys informed her from outside the door.

Selene repressed a groan as she heard this. _'This is going to be a_ fun _conversation,'_ Selene thought sarcastically to herself. "Okay Arys, let her in." A moment later Catelyn entered with Arys following behind her. "You may retire for the night Arys." She told him as she placed the book on her bed.

"Are you sure princess?"

"I'll be fine." She told him as he bowed and left her. "So Lady Stark, what did you wish to talk to me about?" Never know the woman might actually surprise her.

"It's about the bastard." Or maybe not.

 **End of chapter 6. Please review. I'll be honest, I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter and I actually rewrote it twice and this is the best version that came up, so there you are. But Aegon finally makes an appearance, although the first parts of this chapter were inspired by King Arthur: Legend of the sword.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

"And what about _Jon_?" Selene asked, stressing her cousins name, to make sure that Lady Catelyn understood that she did not appreciate the way that the woman spoke of Jon.

"Jon." Catelyn said, her voice sounding strange in which she spoke the name, possibly the first time she had actually said the name when referring to Jon. "I understand that Ser Arys wishes to take him as a squire."

"That's true." Selene had been surprised when Arys had informed her of his plan to take Jon as a squire. As a member of the Kingsguard, even if he lacked the renown of several other members of the order, many lords and knights had tried to get the man to take on one of their sons as a squire but Arys always refused, so it had come as a surprise that Arys had taken an interest in Jon.

"Why?" Catelyn demanded, not asked, demanded.

"Besides his skill?" Selene asked with a smirk, causing a twitch in the woman's left eyebrow. There was no doubt that Jon was more skilled then Robb. While Robb had the potential to be a good fighter, Jon had the potential to be a great one, and Catelyn knew it as well. That wasn't to say that Robb didn't have skills. He was a master at cyvasse, better then both Jon and even herself and if his skills on the battlefield were even half of his skill at the chess like game then Robb could one day join the ranks of Randyl Tarly, Tywin Lannister, and her father and uncles as one of the greatest military commanders in Westeros.

"You've always preferred _Jon_ to my son." The woman accused.

"I've never denied that I'm closer to Jon then Robb," Selene replied calmly, which seemed to anger the woman more by the way that her face started turning red. "But I honestly don't understand your anger. Ser Arys and I won't be staying in Winterfell much longer, maybe another week or two and then we'll begin our journey to the capital, and Jon would be a pretty shit squire if he stayed here while Arys left." Selene took a breath before she continued speaking. She could feel her anger rising but kept it in check, she'd always had a temper as Haley Potter but as Selene Baratheon it had become massively worse. The Baratheons lived by their words Ours is the Fury, and nearly every member of the family had a raging temper, a temper that made them famous and that they constantly struggled to keep in check, especially in battle, when such a temper could be both a boon and a death sentence.

"Isn't that what you want? You husband's bastard gone?" Selene very nearly snarled, causing Catelyn to wince at the voice before she rallied herself. "So why are you so angry about the bastard you hate so much for being born leaving Winterfell? Or do you like him being in Winterfell where you can constantly belittle him and make him feel worthless for something he's never done?" Selene questioned her 'aunt' as her temper started leaking through her control. _'Calm the fuck down,'_ She berated herself and using all mental discipline she had, she forced her temper back before it really got her in trouble.

"Bastards are untrustworthy by nature." Catelyn stated.

"Says who?"

"The Blackfyres!" Catelyn stated with exasperation.

"The Blackfyres wouldn't have been a problem if Aegon the Unworthy hadn't legitimised them." Selene countered and then it clicked. "Your afraid. Afraid that I'll legitimise Jon." She spoke with a small amount of mockery within her voice.

Catelyn scowled but didn't deny the accusation. "Bastards and their descendants have proven time and time again that they can't be trustworthy, and even if Jon doesn't betray Robb, what's to stop any children that he may have from betraying any children that Robb may have in the future."

"What's to stop any children that Bran or Rickon may have from rising against any children that Robb has in the future?" Catelyn recoiled at the implication. "You don't need to be a bastard to be ambitious or envious. What's to stop a descendant of one of your younger sons to believe that they are more deserving of Winterfell then Robb's descendants? Nothing because we can't predict what happens in the future."

"Doesn't mean that Jon doesn't pose a threat." Catelyn replied and Selene resisted the urge to bang her head against something. This woman really was not listening to a word that she was saying. _'Time for a different tactic,'_ She thought.

"You believe that bastards and their descendants are dangerous." It wasn't a question but the woman still nodded. "And does that include house Baratheon? After all Orys Baratheon was largely believed to have been the bastard brother of Aegon the Conquerer." Selene asked.

Catelyn opened her mouth, and then closed it. She was finally realising that she had to be very careful with how she spoke next, the princess after all took great pride in her Baratheon heritage.

"After all my father rebelled against his rightful King and killed the heir of the Iron Throne in battle, technically making him a kinslayer. Does that make him, or any one of my ancestors like Daemon Blackfyre or Maelys the Monstrous?" Catelyn shook her head. "No it doesn't. For near three hundred years the Baratheons were the Targaryens closest allies. My great grandfather Ormund Baratheon was Hand of the King and led the royal army in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, a war your own father and uncle fought in. My grandfather Steffon was the Mad Kings closest friend and my father, who's infamous for his Targaryen hatred once told me that before the rebellion he bared them no ill will and that he never believed that he would one day start a rebellion against the family that his own had served for centuries. It was only when the mad dragons finally went to far that we turned against the family we had served for centuries, and with far greater reason then your own father's reasons for joining the rebellion."

Catelyn's eyes were very interested in the floor and seemed not to want to look at her but Selene just wanted to twist the knife a little further. "In fact my uncle Stannis once told me that he once considered declaring for Aerys, his loyalty to his king warring with his loyalty to his brother. But in the end my uncle acted by house Tullys words, your family's words. He chose his family over his duty to his king. You think Jon is the Starks equivalent of Daemon Blackfyre, but you are wrong, he's their Orys Baratheon, though I'm honestly amazed that he's not like the black dragon considering that you treat him like he's shit on your boots."

Catelyn's face was filled with shame and their was guilt clear in her eyes. She wasn't a bad person, not truly, she just had bad ideals and beliefs but Selene had absolutely not tolerance for her beliefs.

"You don't know what it's like, for your husband to come home with another woman's child. I'm not a fool, I know what men do when they are at war. It wasn't the fact that he had a bastard that bothered me, I hardly knew him when we married. What bothered me was that he brought the boy into our home, and that every day I am forced to look at the reminder that my husband slept with another woman, a woman who even after fourteen years he still hasn't told me the name of."

Selene's expression softened and she felt her temper ebbing slightly, though only slightly. "Your right, I don't know what it's like." She confessed. Hell Selene had never been in love, not truly, she'd cared about people and been attracted to people in both her lives but never in love. "But if I was in your place I'd take it out on my husband, not his child. No one asked or expected you to like Jon, but it was expected that you would be civil to him, and if not that you would at least ignore him, but you failed to do both. Now I'd like you to leave me in peace please, the last of the Northern lords have arrived at Winterfell and tomorrow me and my uncle will be telling them of our plan that could either make or break the North and I need some sleep, so leave." So told Catelyn who with a small bow quickly left.

Turning Selene walked over to her bed and pulled over the covers and crawled into the bed, exhaustion caching up to her.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene groaned as she woke up in the morning. She wished she knew the time, but unfortunately Westeros had yet to build a clock, and the tempus spell was completely useless. The Smallfolk were forced to use the rising and setting sun in order to estimate the time of day, while most noble houses and wealthier merchants used hourglasses, which were unreliable.

But looking at the rising sun from her window she would guess that it was a little earlier then seven in the morning, maybe around half six. Changing from her nightclothes into some well fitted leathers Selene left her chambers. "Good morning Orys, Durran." Selene greeted the two Baratheon guards outside her chambers, most likely stationed by Ser Arys after she had dismissed him the the night before.

"Good morning princess." Orys relied while Durran bowed his head as she walked past them.

Every morning, or at least every morning that she was able to, Selene always did an hour of training. Jaqen had been a brutal taskmaster and an hour training every single morning day, even when he was fulfilling his duties as a faceless and wasn't able to personally train her, would be required of her, and he would no when she hadn't. Suffice to say, the habit of training every morning has stuck.

She hadn't seen Jaqen in nearly two years when she had finished her apprentice training and she'd denied the offer to become a fully fledged faceless man, something that hadn't pleased him, especially with how long he had been training her. But while Selene was grateful for all that he had taught her, she had no desire to become an emotionless assassin that killed people in the name of a god that she didn't even believe in.

Selene left the castle walls and immediately started jogging around Winter Town. Selene kept a steady pace as she jogged around the town and going beyond it's limits to the outskirts. After Selene had ran the entire distance around Winterfell and Winter Town Selene finally ended her jog by going through the Godswood. Selene wasn't a religious person, but she didn't need to be to acknowledge the beauty of the Godswood. Not an outlandish or awe inspiring beauty, but a more simple form of beauty that was common in the North.

A wooded area near three acres in size, surrounded in all forms of trees including oaks, ash, sentinels, and Ironwoods, and a range of other types of trees. And at the exact center was the Heart tree, a pale white wood with red leaves and a face carved into the tree to represent the eyes of the Old Gods. Selene sat down next to the dark pond near the base of the pond, where she swilled her face to refresh herself.

Selene waited a few moments simply sitting on a large rock that was next to the base of the heart tree, staring at the ancient tree. The Heart tree in Storm's End was nothing like the one in Winterfell, one of the main differences is that there was no magic from the one in Storm's End, or at least not any magic that Selene could sense. Admittedly the magic within the Heart tree wasn't particularly powerful but it was certainly present.

Selene spent several minutes just staring at the tree, trying to work out what the magic did, but she was coming up blank with an answer. "Where's Neville when you need him?" Selene couldn't hep but mutter to herself. After all Neville's knowledge of magical plants had been completely unrivaled and she had no doubt that he would have easily been able to work out the magic from the Heart tree and its purpose.

Thinking of Neville, Selene couldn't but feel sad. He had been her closest friend in Hogwarts, a friendship that had developed during their fourth year when he was one of the few Gryffindors who didn't treat her any differently when her name came out of the Goblet of Fire, with half of the school thinking her a cheat and the other half demanding to know how she had done it. From Neville, she had learned of her status as Heiress of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter, and that she was also one of the wealthiest woman in Britain, something that had really pissed her off considering that she had spent the first three years wearing Dudley's clothes that were not only three sizes too big for her but clearly meant for a boy. In fact she had never been so angry or humiliated when she had learnt that the blond ferret had been spreading rumours, rumours that many had believed to be true, that the reason she wore boys clothes was because she was gender confused. Selene, or at the time Haley, may have been the prime example of a tomboy but she was in no way confused, and she'd been sure to prank the blonde prat for the rumours he'd spread.

Neville had also taught her politics, though hardly a master at the art himself, he had been taught much by his grandmother, who Selene would swore on her own mother's grave was the British equivalent of Olenna Tyrell, for when he was Lord Longbottom, and his lessons had benefited her a great deal in this life. After all her father and uncle Stannis were both soldiers and neither had the patience for 'ass kissing' as they called it, and neither were able to teach her the skill. And for Neville's help she had dragged him by the ear, quite literally, during fourth year to Diagon Alley when she had learnt he was using his father's wand and had him get his own. By the end of the year he was one of the top ten most powerful wizards in their year and by the end of fifth year he was the second most powerful in their year, after herself.

 _"No plant or tree is naturally magical."_ Selene remembered Neville once explaining. _"It requires constant use of spells and potions to become as it is and it always has a purpose. No one is going to go through the effort of imbuing plants with magic unless it was valuable."_

So the biggest question; what was the purpose of the Heart tree?

Selene really had no idea, and with how little she knew of the magic used by both the Children and the First Men, she wasn't going to risk experimenting on the Heart tree with her own magic, who knows the kind of affects that could possibly have on her. But still, something that she would need to learn more about in the future. But still, their was a region in Westeros where Selene believed that she _might_ get answers.

The God's Eye.

 **\- Line Break -**

"Now that was boring." Selene commented lightly to her uncle after they had finished meeting the last of the Northern lords. It had taken them awhile to decide what to do with all the gold they had discovered but they had decided to give certain Northern lords gold in order to expand and develop their lands. The Manderly's had been given gold to start construction of a Northern fleet, the Mormonts were given gold to build an official port on their lands, same as the Glovers, while the Karstarks were given permission to do what they had begged the Starks of Winterfell to give them permission to do for centuries. Bring Skagos to heel.

Of course one of the man's sons would become lord of Skagos as a result but the Karstarks were a loyal family and her uncle was considering the Karstark heir Harrion as a potential husband for Sansa. He was a few years older then her but far worse marriages had been made in the past.

Of course those were just a few of many plans that were being implemented. The King's road that was little more then a dirt track would be repaired while new roads would be built throughout the North, a key example being one that would connect Deepwood Motte to Winterfell, connecting to the Dreadfort. A smaller road from Last Hearth to Karhold, and one from White Harbour to Moat Cailin to then Barrowton. Her uncle had decided against building a canal, using the time before winter came, and the lack of manpower and engineers to pull such a thing off, as a reason of delaying such plans.

Nearly every Northern house had come to Winterfell, from the Manderlys to the Mormonts, the Boltons to the Ryswells, all but two of the main Northern houses hadn't come to Winterfell. House Reed and House Dustin. House Reed's absence wasn't a concern, the Crannogmen rarely if ever let the swamps of the Neck, and by her uncle's word Howland Reed was as loyal as a man could be and there was no question of his loyalty. It was House Dustin that was the problem.

House Dustin was technically an extinct house. Its last member was killed at the Tower of Joy fourteen years ago, leaving Willam Dustin's widow Barbrey Ryswell as the Lady of Barrowton. This wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the fact that their were many questions regarding the loyalty of Lady Dustin. This wasn't the first time the woman had refused a summons from Winterfell, something that could be considered treasonous and every time her uncle and Barbrey Dustin were within each other's company the woman was by all accounts barely reasonable towards him.

Perhaps Selene was overthinking it, after all their was a long way between dislike and treason, after all you didn't have to like someone to be loyal to someone. But Barrowton was a powerful Northern house and a woman who held such disdain for her uncle was cause for alarm. The question was whether or not Selene should do something about it., and if so what?

"I'd have thought you'd be used to dealing with prideful old lords." Her uncle spoke with a smile.

"Prideful lords I can handle, those stubborn old goats that make up your bannermen uncle are some of the most frustrating people I have ever met. Don't know how you manage putting up with them." She spoke with exasperation which caused Ned to laugh at his niece.

"You get used to it." He promised her. "And we've still got the meeting with Jeor Mormont."

"Is he as stubborn as his sister?" She asked.

"Oh yes."

"Then this will be fun." Selene muttered out loud. Where was a bottle of Arbor Gold when you needed it.

 **\- Line Break -**

The atmosphere was very tense, Selene couldn't help but note to herself. If such a thing was actually possible it could be cut with a knife, although swinging a knife probably would diffuse the tension since it would certainly distract people. The reason for the tension was that she had just told the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Jeor Mormont what she and her uncle had summoned him for.

"Let me get this straight." Jeor all but growled, sounding a bit like the bear on his family's sigil. "You want me to give up the New Gift, just so you can populate it with all your lordling friends in the South."

"Not necessarily just my friends but yes." Selene replied, causing his eye to twitch.

"The Night's Watch doesn't even answer to the Iron Throne, why should we give back the lands given to us by the Good Queen Alysanne? Besides giving up the land that sustains us weakens the Night's Watch, and by extension the entire North." Jeor stated trying to appeal to her uncle, unfortunately for him, her uncle was firmly behind her in this decision.

"Giving up something that you don't use in exchange for something better weakens the North?" Ned asked with a raised eyebrow. "Barely one farm in ten is active in the Gift, wildling raids are worse then ever and I've even heard rumors of another king beyond the Wall. A former member of the Black brothers in fact, one Mance Rayder."

Selene was very curious about this Mance Rayder and how a former crow was able to assemble wildlings to follow them. The hatred between wildlings and the Night's Watch made the infamous Gryffindor Slytherin rivalry almost pathetic in comparison. That certainly said a lot about Mance Rayder's capabilities. _'Or their desperation,'_ Selene thought, making a note to contact Varys about whether or not he had any spies north of the Wall and what they reported. While Selene had her own informants they were no match for the elusive Spiders.

"In fact I've been considering repopulating the gift and electing lords to govern over it for a while now, I've just lacked the finance to put such measures in place." Despite her uncles argument the Old Bear still looked far from convinced.

"Let's focus less on your displeasure Lord Commander, and instead focus on the Night's Watch itself." Selene spoke as she started a new strategy. "Currently the Watch stands at 1277 members-"

"76." Jeor corrected. "1276 members, a boy was executed not long before I journeyed to Winterfell for raping a woman from Mole's Town." He explained.

"1276. And from those men 187 were from the Gold Cloaks from the capital who were sent to the Wall on charges of corruption, murder, ect. Another 154 men have been sent from the Stormlands, and if it wasn't for me, none of those would have been sent to the Wall. That means that the Night's Watch would have had 940 men, and how many of those are old men unlikely to live past winter?"

Jeor didn't answer but the grim look on his face showed him all that she needed. Likely something that he himself had also considered.

"The Night's Watch is dying. A centuary ago you had three thousand men, before the Dance of Dragons, seven thousand, and when the Conqueror came it's believed that the Night's Watch almost numbered ten thousand men. The decline of the Night's Watch started when you were given the New Gift, before that the noble houses that populated the land were able to support the Watch, but afterwards the Watch had more land then it could manage and the houses closest to the Wall were in a weaker position to support the you."

"So your plan is to repopulate it with Southerners who won't be able to survive summer, let alone winter." Jeor scorned and she was really started to get annoyed with him.

"First of all us Southerners aren't as weak as you seem to think. Not to mention most of your men are Southerners. If you don't think they can last winter then why bother accepting them into the Night's Watch?" Jeor appeared sufficiently chastised at that. "And by having Southerners populating the New Gift you raise the awareness of the needs of the Wall to their families South of the Neck."

"And what's to be done with the taxes from the New Gift?"

"Fifty percent of it will be dedicated to the Watch." Selene proposed.

Jeor nodded slightly. "And I assume the remaining taxes will go to Winterfell?"

"No," Ned answered, drawing a look of surprise. "Selene will be the one paying for the New Gift and the remaining taxes collected from it will go straight to her."

Mormont looked to her in surprise at that but didn't question it. As long as the Night's Watch got it's fifty percent he really didn't care what was done with the other half. A part of him was tempted to argue for more taxes but he knew better then to push his luck regarding the situation, and though it galled a part of him he couldn't deny that the princess was right about the Night's Watch dying. It needed this support, and he would not be remembered as the Lord Commander who let the Night's Watch die because of his pride.

"Very well," He spoke reluctantly. "What will the Night's Watch get in exchange for the New Gift."

"20,000 gold dragons and a years worth of food from the Stormlands." The New Gift was worth more then that, but it was simple negotiation tactic. Offer low value, while the opponent demands a higher amount and slowly work out an agreement. Crude but effective.

"75,000 dragons and two years worth of food." Jeor demanded.

"35,000 and one years worth of food." Selene re-offered.

"40,000 and two years worth of food." Jeor offered a far more reasonable demand, unfortunately not one she was willing to agree to.

"No. I'll increase the price to 50,000 gold dragons but I'll only provide one years worth of food, that is non negotiable. And the New Gift would likely require up to three times the price that I'm offering in order to restore it to proper living conditions and to repair the abandoned farmlands. Despite how much land it is, the New Gift is not worth a tremendous amount of money." Contrary to what many whispered Selene was not the ruler of the Stormlands, her uncle was, and while arranging a years shipments of food and supplies to the Night's Watch wasn't too difficult to manage, Renly would not allow for more then that.

"Fine. I accept your offer." The Old Bear grumbled out.

"Pleasure doing business with you Lord Commander." Selene replied with a large grin.

 **End of chapter 7. Please review. I had intended for this chapter to be much longer, but it became too complicated so I basically cut a lot of it out.**

 **I lot of people are suggesting giving Selene a dragon, an idea that I am really considering so I've decided to put up a poll on what magical pet Selene should have.**

 **Just a direwolf.**

 **A fire dragon.**

 **An ice dragon.**

 **Fenris wolf (Thor Rhagnarok)**


	9. Chapter 9

**And the winner is Fenris Wolf.**

 **Chapter 8**

When he had first learnt of what had happened to his brother he had scoffed. Victarion may be little better then a brute but he was a brute with few rivals in combat. But after he had confirmed that the rumour of his brother's death was indeed true he had laughed, especially when he had found out that he had been killed by a boy of six and ten namedays. So much for the _great_ captain of the Iron Fleet.

But still the boy who had killed his brother was of great interest to him. After all a long thought to be dead Targaryen prince would intrigue many, Euron included. Much like the rest of the world Euron believed Aegon Targaryen to have died in the sack of King's Landing. Scrying truly was a useful art.

Euron always kept tabs on his brothers, and just by chance one of the red priests he had _converted_ to his cause, had been using one of his glass candles to to observe his brother when he saw his brother killed by the long thought to be dead son of Elia Martell and Rhaegar Targaryen, but that wasn't what interested Euron. He could care less that Aegon Targaryen had killed his brother, if the boy truly was the son of the Silver prince, hell a part of him actually wanted to send the boy a gift as a result. But what truly intrigued Euron was the fact that the boy was immune to fire. In the past many Targaryens had been immune to fire, including Aegon the First, his sisters and sons. But as time went by the number of Targaryens possessing the ability gradually decreased. In fact the former prince may very well be the first Targaryen with the immunity since the Dance of Dragons, Daemon Targaryen and his daughter Baela being the last members of their family known to possess the ability.

What made the boy so special that he had an ability long believed to be a myth Euron had no idea, but he did know that it had to have something to do with magic.

Euron had always held a fascination with the mystic arts, ever since he was a boy and he had raided north of the Wall out of a curiosity of Wildlings. It was there that Euron had learnt that magic not only existed but it was in no way dead like both the Maesters and the Faith liked to claim when he saw a wildling take control of a bear and use it to to kill half a dozen of his raiders. Ever since then Euron had vowed to learn all that he possibly could about magic.

The Doom of Valyria, the Shadow lands of Asshai, the God's Eye, the ruins of the Rhoyne, the Warlocks of Qarth. Every continent and culture in the known world rumoured to possess even the slightest traces of magic he had been to. He probably knew more about magic then any other person in the entire world, and his possessions were proof of that.

Dragonhorns and Valyrian steel, potions and remedies, glass candles and seeing stones. He even possessed a crystalline blade that unless he was mistaken had belonged to the fabled White Walkers. Though how the weapon had ended up in the ruins of the Rhoyne Euron honestly had no idea. But that blade was his favoured weapon. A blade that cut through steel like it was silk, and shattered any blade it came into contact with, the sole exception being Valyrian steel. Hell the blade could very well be the cause of the Rhoynar Valyrian wars.

A blade superior to the Valyrians fabled steel! Wars had been started for a lot less.

Euron started scratching just bellow his eye patch, even after all these years it still played up, but the price that he had paid was well worth it.

Standing up Euron walked towards the desk within his cabin on his infamous ship the Silence. Pulling open one of the drawers he withdrew a chest that was inside and placed it on top of his desk.

Opening it revealed three stone dragon eggs.

Despite how many times he had visited the Doom he had only managed to find those three eggs, but no matter what he did he just couldn't get them to hatch. And oh boy had he tried. Euron couldn't even count the attempts he had made in trying to hatch the eggs, all of them ending in failures, although none of them had resulted in anything similar to the disaster of Summerhall, which led to some curious questions about how that disaster had happened.

He was loath to part with one of his eggs but if the Targaryen boy could succeed where he had failed then it would be worth it. If Aegon Targaryen failed to hatch the eggs then it wouldn't be especially difficult for Euron to reacquire them. And if the boy actually managed to succeed in hatching the eggs, well Euron also had the means to control those dragons.

Euron smiled as the thoughts of dragons filled his mind.

 **\- Line Break -**

Jon had learnt very quickly that when Selene traveled, she traveled fast. Not at a speed that was necessarily unhealthy for the horses but certainly much faster then what was required for the journey from Winterfell to White Harbour. The journey from White Harbour to the Northern capital could take on average four to five days traveling at normal speeds. If they continued traveling at this speed then they should make it to White Harbour within three days.

"Set up camp here." Selene called out and the row of horses trotted to a stop. Jon got off his horse with no trouble and experiencing little aches from the journey, he was well used to riding after all.

Jon had found himself setting up Ser Arys camp, one of the more boring duties that a squire had to go through. After he'd prepared Ser Arys camp the Kingsguard called him over with two practice swords in hand, and one of Selene's guards standing next to him, also holding a practice sword in his hand. "Your good at one on one combat Jon, but in a real battle you'll likely be fighting more then one enemy at once. So the purpose of this exercise is to see how long you can last against the two of." Arys told him as he threw him one of the practice swords in his hand.

Barely a second after that the two men charged at him, forcing him to back lest he become overwhelmed. Jon immediately went on the defensive, blocking a strike from Arys, while just barely managing to twist his body out of the way from a strike the guardsman.

The rest of the spar continued much the like the start. With Jon stuck on the defensive barely managing to keep the two more experienced warriors at bay, and not without taking hits. Jon had no doubt that the following morning he would find at least half a dozen bruises from places where the practice blades had struck him.

A well placed strike to his back Jon failed to dodge in time brought him to his knees.

"Not bad for a first try." Ser Arys spoke as he helped him to his feet. "Get some rest Jon, because we'll be doing that again in the morning."

Jon couldn't help but groan a he sat down at the camp fire.

"Okay Jon, a few things that you need to know when we get to the capital." Selene informed him as she sat down at the camp fire opposite him.

"Okay." He said nodding for her to continue.

"Okay, the first is the queen. When you get to the capital the queen will likely insist upon a meeting with you. No matter what, you _must_ be respectful to her." Selene stressed. "As uncle Ned's son you have some protection from my father but not a massive amount, so try not to do anything to antagonise the queen. She'll dislike you enough as it is, no need to add fuel to the fire because believe me she will make your life in the capital very unpleasant."

"Why?" Jon questioned. "What particular reason does she have to dislike me so?"

"Simple, she doesn't like house Stark, mostly because of my father's love for my mother but also because she's the kind of person who believes it when someone says that the North is barbaric kingdom ruled by a barbaric family." Jon couldn't help but snort at the irony of a Lannister calling anyone barbaric.

"Second of all, bastard or not you are still the son of a Lord Paramount, and a man that my father views as a brother in all but blood. People will try to use you to gain favours and influence. Be polite but do not make any promises because trust me they will come back to bite you in the ass." The way Selene said that left little doubt that his cousin was speaking from experience, though Jon didn't press for answers.

"Are there any particular people I should watch out for?" He asked. Lord Stark, Selene and Ser Arys had all warned him that King's Landing could be dangerous.

"Petyr Baelish." The sheer amount of loathing within his cousin's voice honestly took Jon back.

"What about him?" Jon knew that he was the King's Master of coin and that he was fostered at Riverrun and grew with Lady Stark but that was it.

"He is one of the most despicable men I have ever met." Selene's face was in the visage of a repressed snarl which startled Jon slightly. What had this man done to inspire such hate from his cousin? "And he's also one of the most dangerous men I have ever met. Do not under any circumstances leave yourself alone with that man." Selene warned him.

"I can look after myself." He reminded her. What Selene did next Jon could never have been able to predict.

SMACK. Jon's cheek stung at the slap and he rapidly blinked to clear the spots from his eyes as he gave his cousin a questioning look. "Sansa would be able to beet Baelish in a fight Jon, he is one of the least martial men I have ever met. But those who work for him are a completely different story. Cersei will dislike you being a Stark, Baelish however will hate you for it. Do you know that he challenged our uncle Brandon for Lady Catelyn's hand?"

"No." Jon answered, curious despite himself.

"When the betrothal was announced he and our uncle dueled and Baelish was beaten. Our uncle spared his life." The way Selene said the words spoke all that she needed about how she disagreed with that decision.

"There's nothing wrong with mercy." Jon couldn't hep but say.

"No there isn't, but when it comes to Baelish our uncle should not have spared him. He also left him a scar from naval to collar bone." Selene said as she trailed a finger from and too said places on her body. "Ever since that day Baelish has despised every single member of house Stark, bastard or not. He hates our uncle Benjen for being a Stark, he hates baby Rickon for being a Stark and he'll hate you for being a Stark." Jon was visibly shaken by what she had said and Selene wondered for a moment if she had gone a bit far but she resolved herself that Jon needed to know this.

"Selene am I making a mistake going to King's Landing?" Jon asked as despite himself worry and fear crept into his voice.

"Jon if I thought for one second that your life could be in danger then I would never allow to go to the capital." Selene replied calming him down a bit. "While there are dangerous people in King's Landing very few will have any motive to harm you at all, you just need to keep an eye on them."

"Okay, anything else I need to know?"

"Don't piss anyone off." Selene suggested with a shrug while he just gave her look. After a few moments they both burst into laughter. "But seriously Jon, just try to have fun while you are in the capital."

 **\- Line Break -**

The Sapphire Isle they called his home. A shame that there weren't actual sapphires on Tarth and it was only called the Sapphire Isle because of the blue of it's water. But still Tarth held extensive fertile lands making it, and by extension himself among the richer Stormlords. The fact that the positioning of the southern half of Tarth left the northern part of the island completely unaffected by storms meant that it also served as a trading hub for the Stormlands and the Free Cities. And the location of the recently constructed Storm fleet.

15 traditional warships, 10 dromonds and 5 longships like the ones used by the Ironborn, with an equal number of ships on the Island of Estermont, had already been built with more under construction. As a veteran of the Greyjoy rebellion Selwyn Tarth couldn't deny the uses of the longships favoured by the Ironborn. Not the most valuable ships in open warfare but useful for speed and surprise attacks.

Of course the construction of the Storm fleet was but one of many changes brought on by the princess. Roads were constructed, connecting nearly every major inland keep in the Stormlands, Weeping Town had become a thriving port as a result of a loan from Storm's End and the Weeping Town could likely be classed as an official city within a decade. And of course the unconventional farming techniques brought upon meant that they no longer had to purchase food from the Reach, to the joy of many Stormlands and the ire of many Reach lords.

Not that any Stormlord gave a crap about the Reach losing out on their wealth. Selwyn then frowned in realisation. There was one Stormlord that cared about the Reachers losing gold, unfortunately that Stormlord was Renly Baratheon.

Selwyn did not like his liege lord, not many Stormlords did and being generous he would say one in five Stormlords were more loyal to Lord Renly then Princess Selene. But in the end their loyalty to the princess was Renly Baratheon's own fault.

The Stormlands and the Reach had always possessed a bloody history, and while a lot of the hatred had died with the Gardeners and the Durrandons in the Conquest there was still a bitter rivalry between the two kingdoms, a rivalry that had exploded when the two kingdoms went to war for the first time in centuries at the Battle of Ashford. For a kingdom that had always boasted about its strong martial prowess the battle had been a complete disaster, and with the storm army retreating to the Riverlands, their homes had been left defenseless. Due to being an island Tarth hadn't suffered like several holdings had but while the Tyrell army laid siege to Storm's End many Reach lords had plundered the Stormlands to their hearts content.

After the war they had wanted land, payment and rewards, and above all they wanted revenge on the Tyrells, or at least force them to return all that they had taken, but instead none of that had happened. The cowardly Tyrells bent the knee, and no punishment was leveled upon them by the king they had fought and died for. After that King Robert had started to lose the respect of the Stormlands. The fact that Stannis Baratheon was not only banished to Dragonstone but forced to marry that Florent bitch, who's family had become particularly hated in the Stormlands certainly hadn't helped.

But the reason for his lack of loyalty to Renly was a result of the Greyjoy rebellion. In the aftermath of the battle off Fair Isle much of the Redwyne fleet had been damaged with many ships needed to be repaired and replaced. The Reach lacked the required lumber and so had turned too the Stormlands for it. What could have been a massive boon for not just the lords of the Rainwood but the entire Stormlands had turned into a financial disaster all because of Renly Baratheon.

By this point Renly had become _very_ close with the Tyrells and had allowed them to harvest the Rainwood, for less then one quarter of the required price that would normally be charged. Over the following years many houses in the Southern part of the Stormlands would be experiencing a lot of financial troubles and Selwyn could actually name two Knightly houses that had even gone bankrupt as a result of Renly Baratheon's stupidity.

With King Robert in a state of near permanent depression following Lyanna Baratheons death, Lord Stannis stuck on the barren Island of Dragonstone and Lord Renly losing at an alarming rate the respect of his bannerman it wasn't really a surprise that the Stormlords had been so quick to rally behind the princess. And Selwyn was pleased that his daughter, and long acknowledged as the only child that he would ever have was one of them, because in his opinion Renly Baratheon was unworthy of the loyalty that his daughter used to hold for him.

But still times were changing, Robert Baratheon's decision being a prime example, but hardly the only thing. War was coming, he could feel it in his bones. Who they would be fighting used to be simple, House Martell, possibly the last son of the Mad King across the Narrow Sea and maybe even the Tyrells. Now it wasn't so simple since there was now the chance of war with house Lannister, and who knew what those blasted Ironborn pirates would do.

And from what his daughter reported of the capital the King was aware of that as well. Apparently ever since Princess Selene had began the journey to Winterfell the King had made the effort to try to get back into shape. It wouldn't be an easy process, the king had truly let himself go following the Greyjoy rebellion and it would take months, maybe even a few years for Robert Baratheon to once again be the Demon of the Trident.

But the changes in Robert Baratheon was even more worrying. It showed that the king also believed that a war was inevitable and was also preparing for it. Which was a good thing, Robert Baratheon had been a warrior with few equals, and hardly a slouch when it came to military tactics either. If it truly did come to war then Robert Baratheon would hopefully be able to shatter their enemies like he shattered Rhaegar at the Trident. And if he couldn't then hopefully his daughter would be able to.

"Because the Starks are always right," Selwyn couldn't help but mutter. "Winter is coming."

 **\- Line Break -**

"You want me to do what?" Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne questioned his brother as they sat in his solar in Sunspear.

"I want you to go to King's Landing. Lords from all over the realm will be there, an opportunity that is hard to come by." Doran replied logically. His brother did everything logically, he thought logically, he spoke logically, he ate logically. It wouldn't surprise Oberyn if he fucked his wife logically. Or at least used to fuck his wife logically with her having returned to Essos.

Oberyn knew his brother was right, but he had no desire to ever set foot back in that stinking city after what had happened to his sister. "But why me. There are many in King's Landing who would love the opportunity to prove us traitors to the Usurper?"

"Because you are the only one I can trust. Besides none would dare try anything against the Red Viper." Oberyn couldn't help but smirk at the reminder of his reputation.

"And what of Arianne?" Doran had a look of contemplation at the mention of his daughter.

"She is becoming increasingly willful."

"Perhaps we should tell her about who Arron really is, she already thinks that we don't trust her." Oberyn suggested.

"And how long before she got tipsy and told someone else? How long before she had pillow talk with one of her lovers and revealed things that we wished to keep secret?" Doran asked with a raised eyebrow. "I love my daughter Oberyn but I am not blind to her faults."

"But she is becoming willful and even paranoid. Not two days ago I heard her telling Tyene that we wish Quentyn to succeed you as the ruling Prince of Dorne. This is a time when our family needs to be united."

"Aye marrying her to Arron is pointless, as is Viserys if even half the rumours about him are true. Marrying her to Anders Yronwoods son has potential but if Arianne truly does fear for her status as heir then she'll likely believe that the marriage would be an attempt to remove her from the line of succession, and we have the loyalty and obedience of our remaining bannermen." Doran quickly surmised.

"Preferably a second son from a noble house with wealth and influence." Oberyn stated. "House Tyrell isn't an option. Garlan is already married, and that fool Mace would never consent to to Willas marrying Arianne."

"The Westerlands as well as the Stormlands are also out of the question, along with most of the Great houses. It's there bannermen that we need to look at." Doran spoke and Oberyn quickly ran through a list of all powerful houses in Westeros through his mind.

"Houses Tarly and Hightower in the Reach both come to mind. Both powerful houses commanding great influence both within and outside of the Reach. Mallister and Blackwood in the Riverlands, the Royces and Graftons in the Vale, and the Manderlys and Boltons in the North." There were other houses that came to mind, but all those were some of the most powerful houses within their respective kingdoms. "As for the Crownlands, well many of their houses have fallen on hard time since the rebellion, and are constantly being watched by the Usurper and his allies."

"If you do wish for me to go to King's Landing then I could take Arianne with me." Oberyn continued.

"I'll consider it." That Oberyn had no doubt.

"And what of Arron? Him staying in Tyrosh is dangerous after he killed Victarion Greyjoy, who knows how long it will be before Balon sends some of his reavers out for revenge."

"We've taught him all that we can but it's time for him to learn what he can on his own." Doran answered and Oberyn frowned in confusion as he considered his brother's words.

"You wish for him to join Connington?" He asked with disdain in his voice. He did not like the exiled lord of Griffin's Roost, hell Oberyn all but despised the man for the loathing the man had shown to his sister all because he was jealous of her.

"I share your disdain for the man brother. But I do trust his loyalty to Rhaegar's memory. And ever since his exile he has been gathering other Targaryen loyalists who chose exile over bending the knee to Robert Baratheon, and has formed a sellsword company." Oberyn didn't mention the similarity between Connington's group and the Golden Company despite his temptation, even if the men following Jon Connington were barely a quarter of the number of members of the Golden Company.

"I don't trust Connington, or his unhealthy obsession with Rhaegar." The name of the former prince was spoken with nothing but loathing. Rhaegar was lucky that Robert had killed him at the Trident, because Oberyn would have ensured that the _Silver_ prince would have suffered a much slower and more painful death then the one that the Usurper had given him, for the insults the man had given to his sister and for the war that he had started leading to her death and that of his niece Rhaenys.

"Nor do I, but I do trust his hatred of Robert Baratheon and his desire to make up for his failure at the Battle of the Bells. We need allies Oberyn and we can't afford to be picky."

"And what of Selene Baratheon?" Oberyn didn't hate the daughter of Robert Baratheon and the bitch of Winterfell Lyanna Stark, though he certainly held no love for her either. Her mother's selfishness and her father's refusal to punish the men responsible for Elia's death prevented him from having any positive feelings towards her.

"Observe her but don't take any measures against her. She is more open minded then most members of her family and though the chances are slim, the chances of making an ally of her do exist."

"Very well my prince, I will begin preparation for the journey." He said bowing.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene stood on the deck of the heading towards King's Landings port with Jon at her side, a grimace on his face. "How can anyone stand that smell?" He asked her, still looking at the city with a strange fascination. It truly dwarfed over White Harbour in terms of size and population.

"For people who have lived their entire lives in the city, the smell is completely ordinary." Selene explained. It wasn't until she had started living in Storm's End that she had actually noticed just how much King's Landing had truly stunk. It truly did not say anything positive about the Royal family, both the Baratheons and their Targaryen predecessors, that the city they ruled that while the largest was without a doubt in the most atrocious state, probably generating half the revenues of Lannisport and Old Town. Honestly cleaning up King's Landing to the point that it was comparable to the other four cities in Westeros was something Selene had no doubt would take years, maybe even decades.

"How many people live in the city?" Jon asked, drawing her from her thoughts.

"Half a million, give or take."

"Half a million." Jon repeated with clear disbelief in his voice. "That's nearly the entire North all crammed into that." That could very well be true, despite being the largest of the Seven kingdoms by far the North also had one of the lowest population in Westeros, with only the Iron Islands and maybe Dorne having a lower population. But when one took into account the sheer size of the North compared to those two regions, well it certainly showed the lack of manpower in the North. Selene would estimate that at least forty percent of the North was uninhabited. "How can anyone live like that?"

"There's far more work in the city. You'll find more smithies, merchants and guilds in this city then you will in the rest of the Crownlands combined." Selene answered her cousin.

"You can't tell me every person in the capital actually has a job?" The disbelief in Jon's voice was obvious.

"Nope, nearly the entirety of the people living in Flee Bottom are jobless, with large numbers turning to criminal activities in order to gain money." With the economy of Westeros built on agriculture, if you didn't live on a farm or weren't lucky enough to be born into a merchants family then most Small folk lived harsh lives, but there was little that she could actually do about that.

She and Jon fell into a comfortable silence as the ship docked into the port and Selene stepped off the ship where she greeted Brienne. "It's good to see you again old friend." She said as she pulled her friend into a hug.

"And you." Brienne replied patting her on the back.

"You remember my cousin Jon." Selene said gesturing to Jon who was waling forward.

"Of course, good to see again." Brienne said, shaking Jon's hand.

"Likewise my lady." Jon replied.

"So Brienne, any changes in the capital?" Selene asked as they started the walk to the Red Keep.

"Your father." Brienne answered and she sent a sharp look at her as worry began to fill her. After what her father had done she wouldn't put it past Cersei to find a way to harm him.

"What about him?" She asked with worry clear in her voice. "Has Cersei done anything?"

"No nothing like that." Brienne answered quickly shaking her head. "He's been getting into shape."

"Into shape?" Jon asked confused. News from the South didn't often reach Winterfell and as such news of her father's deteriorating physical state hadn't reached the North, at least not the true extent of it.

"Not long after the Greyjoy rebellion my father started to let himself go, no longer training combined with the number of feasts he throws has caused him to gain a lot of weight. Though he hadn't reached the weight of Lord Manderly's sons he was fast approaching." Selene explained. "So he's getting into shape?"

"Aye, the day after you left for the North he started training with the Master at arms, with his war hammer. At first I had thought that you had said something to him that motivated him to try and get back in to shape. But now..." Brienne trailed off, but she didn't need to word her thoughts.

Selene was worried, but also pleased. She had been more then a little worried about her father's health, but didn't exactly know how to bring the matter up. Her father was as stubborn and temperamental as they came and getting into shape would require him limiting his food and drink, something her father would not do easily, and certainly not happily.

They spent the rest of the journey to the Red Keep with some quiet chatter and small talk. As they reached the Red Keep Selene could see her father waiting at the front and her eyes took him in, quickly assessing any changes in him. They were subtle but they were their.

While he was still fat there was also clear signs of muscle starting to emerge from the fat. He had also shaved his bushy beard and all that remained was a faint stubble trace, of course that revealed his multiple chins, but still it was in improvement in her opinion. Her father wasn't someone in her opinion who could successfully pull off a beard.

"Selene." Robert bellowed with a joyous laugh as he saw her, embracing her when she got closer to him.

"Father." Selene replied when they pulled apart. He certianly seemed more lively and dare she say it healthier then when she had left for Winterfell. Hopefully her father would continue to get back into shape. "And this my cousin Jon."

"Your grace." Jon spoke bowing.

"So your Ned's boy?" Robert asked a little curious. He'd always wondered about the boys mother. After all it took one hell of a woman to make Eddard Stark to forget his honour. The only woman that he could ever remember Ned desiring was Ashara Dayne.

"Yes your grace." Jon answered.

"'Your grace', definitely Ned's son, every time I see him he calls me that. Still the best man I ever met, and any son of his is welcome in the capital." Jon nodded, a little uncomfortable by the attention her father was showing him.

"I was wondering if we could talk in private?" Selene interjected, as the smile on her father's face faltered slightly, knowing that he was not going to enjoy the conversation.

"Of course." Robert replied.

"Brienne would be able to show Jon around?"

"Of course." She answered.

"Thank you." Selene said as she walked with her father.

Selene walked with her father through the Red Keep with her father in order to find somewhere _relatively private_ , there was no actual private place in this blasted city, to talk undisturbed. While they waked Selene's mind was quickly going through what she was going to say to her father.

When they finally got to her father's chambers, Robert dismissed the guards standing by, as well as the servants within the chambers. "So, say what you are going to say?" Robert started as he sat down at his desk, filling two goblets of wine for them. Selene grabbed one of the goblets with a small thanks as she sipped at it, frowning slightly at the sour taste. She wasn't particularly fond of Dornish Red, much to sour for her tastes.

"For starters, what were you thinking when you named me your heir?" Selene asked as she sat down opposite her father. She was actually genuinely curious about that, what had her father been thinking.

"I had a dream," Robert began as he drank half the wine in his goblet. Though his daughter preferred the sweet taste of Arbor Gold, he preferred the strong and sour Dornish Red. Say what you will about those blasted Martells they sure made good wine. "Joffrey sat on the Iron Throne and he ordered you executed, along with anyone who opposed him. Then I really started thinking about the kind of king Joffrey would be. I've not been the best king but I would prefer it if my successor wasn't even worse."

"Joffrey's a little shit, no one has ever denied that." Selene stated and it was true. She could barely stand her younger half brother. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's only thirteen and not to late to be turned into a half decent person. If you were worried about the kind of person he was going to become then you could have had him fostered somewhere. With uncle Stannis or Ned, or hell even with Tywin Lannister." She doubted Tywin Lannister would have tolerated either Joffrey's arrogant behavior or his cruel tendencies that would likely have reminded him of Aerys Targaryen.

"Maybe, maybe not." Robert replied taking another large gulp. "Besides Cersei never would have allowed it. I tried to have him fostered the same time I sent you to Storm's End, but that blasted woman never allowed it. No one, not even her own father, was good enough to look after her 'precious Joffrey'." Robert answered to her surprise. Selene hadn't known that her father hasd actually considered fostering Joffrey with someone else. And she could very well imagine Cersei's reaction to that. No one would be good enough in her opinion for Joffrey.

"And what about Tommen?" Selene questioned causing her father to wince slightly at the mention of his second son, who unlike his first did not have any psychopathic tendencies. "Joffrey had no allies that would have protested to his removal as heir. The Lannister certainly wouldn't have cared as long as Tommen could still inherit but it wasn't just Joffrey you removed from the line of succession but Tommen as well. Hell I cut my stay in the North short because I was terrified that I would learn that Tywin Lannister had declared war. Something you clearly believe could have happened as well." Selene snapped at her father.

"Tommen is a sweet and soft boy. Unsuited to be king."

"He's six." Selene protested. "Tell me father, did you make me your heir because you truly believed that I would make a good queen, or so that you could spite Cersei?"

"Do you truly think that?" Robert asked, not quite believing the conclusion that his daughter had come to.

"It certainly occurred to me." Selene replied with a far more even voice then she had thought capable of.

"I named you my heir because I know with complete certainty that you would make a good queen. Joffrey wouldn't make a good king, nothing can change that. Would Tommen have made a good king. Possibly, he is like you said only six and there is plenty of time for him to learn, but time we don't have." Robert stated, piquing her interest. "War is coming. You've visited Sunspear haven't you?" Selene nodded at the question. "How many war galleys protected their waters?"

"Nine or ten." She answered, wondering where her father was going with this. For the region capital nearly a dozen warships wasn't something that was uncommon.

"There were three when Princess Meria ruled Dorne, while the rest of the Dornish houses had either two or nothing. Now every Dornish lord seems to have at least five warships under their own command. No Dornish house has their own war fleet but Dorne can amass a considerable fleet in its own right. Peace has never been house Martells aim, and the fact that they didn't join Balon Greyjoy showed that they aren't interested in declaring independence either. For those blasted snakes war has never been a question of _if_ but a question of _when_.

"The Martells don't like us, but they hate the Lannisters." Her father continued. "If Tywin declares war then a family that was once our enemy can become our allies. Besides, nearly every kingdom is making their own preparations for war, though all for different purposes. But I didn't name you my heir to either spite the Lannisters or to make an ally of the Dornish. I did it because I believe that you can keep the realm from tearing itself apart, and maybe, just maybe stop a war. That's why I named you my heir Selene, because you'll make a better queen then I ever could as king, and you've proven it countless times."

Selene was touched by her father's words, and she blinked a few times to keep a few tears from forming. "I'm heartened that you have such faith in me father, but I still don't believe that you've made the right decision." Selene replied as she placed her still nearly full glass of Dornish Red on the desk in front of her and left her father's chambers.

 **End of chapter 8. Please review.**

 **And we finally return to the capital. Next chapter we'll be seeing the various lords of Westeros arrive at the capital and the chapter after that the Mountain vs the Stag.**

 **In case anyone is wondering why I presented a negative opinion of Renly in the Stormlands, well the ease with which they shifted loyalties from Renly to Stannis after his death, when it was obvious that Stannis was responsible for Renly's death showed that he clearly hadn't been a good lord of Storm's End if his bannermen were so willing to side with Stannis in the aftermath. So I decided to create a plausible reason for their lack of loyalty towards Renly, because really Brienne was one of the few nobles from the Stormlands that was actually shown to be genuinely loyal towards him, and that was because he didn't mock her for her appearance, not because he was a good lord.**

 **As for any questions about Robert getting into shape, well this set roughly two and a half years before Season 1 meaning that while Robert is still fat, he hasn't reached the point that he is incapable of losing weight. Not to mention that Robert often spoke about how he believed that a war was coming yet he never made any attempt to prepare for it. So there you are.**

 **Also just to be clear Princess Meria is the unnamed and deceased mother of Doran, Oberyn and Elia. Also in case anyone's wondering how Robert knows about Dorne's naval strength it comes from Varys. Allies they may be he still needs to provide Robert with accurate information in order to keep his position.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A lot of reviews are asking about who Selene will be paired with and if it will be a femslash pairing. I have implied in a previous chapter that Selene is bi and she is, but while I might do a femslash pairing for Selene it won't be the main or final pairing for her because Selene as the future queen and as the future of house Baratheon, with her siblings being bastards and Shireen having grayscale, Selene therefore needs a prince/King consort in order to have children with. I have already chosen who her consort will be but I'm keeping it secret. If you can't wait PM me and I'll tell you.**

 **Chapter 9**

"So, if your truly against being queen, are you going to renounce your claim?" A sharp voice called out from behind her as she stalked down the halls of the Red Keep.

"I don't know uncle." Selene answered Stannis, not turning around to face him. "I didn't ask for this, nor do I even want this. More trouble then it's honestly worth the Iron Throne."

"Like how I didn't ask for Dragonstone." Stannis spoke to her and Selene resisted the urge snap at him.

"I'm really not in the mood uncle." Selene warned but Stannis spoke back.

"I didn't ask for Dragonstone, nor did I ask to be made Master of Ships or to lead the fleet during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Nor did I even want to do those things. I did them because it was my duty to do so."

"Where are you going with this uncle?"

"You are now the heir of the Seven Kingdoms. So are you going to do your duty to the realm or are you going to cast it aside. Something for you to think about princess." Stannis spoke to her as he turned and started going down the corridor away from her.

"Tell me something uncle. You are a firm believer of duty and inheritance. With how you dislike my father for giving Renly Storm's End when by all right it was yours, why did you support my father when he made me his heir when by all laws the throne belonged to Joffrey?"

"Because just maybe my brother is making the right choice." Stannis replied as he continued down the corridor, his thoughts going towards the other reason he though Selene should be queen. Another reason he had supported Robert in his decision to name Selene his heir over Joffrey was because he was suspicious about Joffrey's parentage.

He had no proof. Only a servant who had confided in him that she had witnessed Cersei and her Kingslayer brother Jaime embracing in a way that no siblings were meant to embrace. Since then he had been very curious about all of Cersei's children and their lack of resemblance to Robert.

He didn't know whether or not they were Robert's children or merely bastards that the Lannisters were using to steal the throne but it was honestly not worth the risk. Until Stannis knew the truth about Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella's parentage then he would support Selene's claim.

 **\- Line Break -**

"God you can smell the shit from five leagues away!" Marq Piper complained loudly, not that the heir of Pinkmaiden Castle was wrong. King's Landing truly stunk and unless Edmure was mistaken then it certainly hadn't improved. There were a lot of rumours about changes in the capital but clearly cleanliness wasn't one of them.

Lymond Goodbrook made a large sniffing sound. "Oh I know where I've smelled this stinks before." Lymond stated with a large smirk on his face.

"Oh what is it?" Karyl Vance questioned not recognising the amused glint in Lymond's eyes.

"Your sister after a good fuck." Lymond's answered with a large smirk causing the entire group to roar with laughter Edmure included while Karyl's face redeemed slightly while he glared at Lymond.

Edmure's mind however drifted away from his friends conversations as they continued travelling towards the capital, his mind drifting towards his father. His father Hoster Tully had been experiencing an illness for some time, and while it wasn't serious and he was still capable of his duties as Lord of Riverrun their maester, Vyman had advised that it would be better if Hoster didn't make the journey to King's Landing.

 _"Remember Edmure while you are in the capital you represent not just house Tully but the_ entire _Riverlands,"_ Hoster had said to him.

 _"But father why does this feast concern you so much?"_ Edmure hadn't understood his father's, not fear but certainly wariness about the way lords of Westeros were all travelling to the capital. Now however after his father had explained Edmure felt the same caution.

 _"Don't be a fool Edmure,"_ His father had chided him. _"This feast is your generations equivalent of the Tournament at Harrenhall which was the beginning of the end for the Targaryens."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"The tourney was just a facade, and was instead a gathering by Prince Rhaegar in order to gain the support of the Great Houses in order to overthrow his father."_

 _"Do you think the Lannisters will use this feast as a method of gaining the support of the other houses to oppose the princess."_

 _"I wouldn't put it past him. Tywin Lannister is not a man to be underestimated and Robert has made a dangerous enemy by his decision. And that's why you not only need to be careful in the capital Edmure but you must speak with the princess. If Tywin declares war then he'll be marching_ through _the Riverlands in order to get to the capital, leaving chaos and destruction in his wake. Therefore it is imperative that you speak not only to the princess but Prince Joffrey as well when you get to the capital._

 _"Over a century ago we supported Rhaenyra over Aegon because she was the better option. Aegon was gluttonous and wasteful while Aemond destroyed everything in his path. If the Baratheons do go to war with each other, a dance of stags if you will then we need to know who will not only be the better option for not just the Riverlands but the entire realm."_

"Edmure, are you okay?" Marq asked his friend with concern, pulling Edmure from his thoughts of his father.

"I'm fine Marq, just remembering something my father told me to do." He told Marq who simply hummed in response, letting the matter drop.

 **\- Line Break -**

Tywin sipped at the wine in his hand as he sat at a desk in his solar. He wasn't staying in the Red Keep but instead in a manse within one of the wealthier parts of the capital. He'd barely stayed at the Red Keep for an hour before leaving for his manse. He had no desire to remain in the castle for any long periods of time.

The sound of glass shattering drew his attention to his enraged daughter.

Tywin supposed that parents were supposed to be proud of their children, but that wasn't something that he felt when he thought of his children. Jaime was one of the most skilled swordsman in Westeros, but that was all he was proud of when he thought of his eldest son. One might think that the fact that he was the youngest Kingsguard to join the _prestigious_ order might have garnered some pride but since Jaime's appointment was nothing but an insult from Aerys removed any pride Tywin could have felt at the appointment of his son to the Kingsguard.

Tyrion was nothing more then a drunken whore monger, although Tywin couldn't deny that of all his children the dwarf may very well be the most intelligent of them. Although that wasn't actually saying much considering his other two children. While Jaime wasn't by any means stupid he was hardly a great intelligence, and Cersei, well Tywin had always known that Cersei wasn't as smart as she thought she was.

It wasn't pride that he felt when he thought of his only daughter but disappointment. She thought herself clever, she wasn't, she thought herself cunning, she wasn't and she was about as subtle as Robert Baratheons war hammer. And she was currently pacing around his solar like a caged lion ranting about, well he had honestly stopped listening to her. Tywin had learnt long ago to just let his daughter exhaust herself.

"Are you done?" Tywin asked calmly as Cersei finally stopped her ranting, causing her to glare at him but the sharp stare he gave her in return quickly caused her glare to turn into a wince. "You know I truly find it hard to believe that even after all these years I am still cleaning up your messes."

"My messes?" Cersei screamed, and in that moment Tywin was pleased that old age meant that his hearing wasn't quite as sharp as it used to be, otherwise the screech like words may have caused him to wince. "This is not my fault."

"This is completely your fault." He snapped at her. "I hold you responsible for the King's decision."

"It's not my fault that the cheating brute favours his whore of a daughter.

"It's exactly your fault." He roared at her, shocking her into silence. "When you married Robert Baratheon he was still mourning his first wife, who very well could have been murdered by Aerys' Kingsguard. He didn't want to marry you, he did so because Jon Arryn persuaded him to, and it certainly wasn't you who convinced Arryn that you should be queen. It was ME who convinced him the benefits of Robert Baratheon marrying into the Westerlands.

"Robert was still mourning his wife, and he had his daughter to care for, all that was needed from you was cunning and patience, two areas in which you are sorely lacking." Tywin didn't shout he didn't even raise his voice, instead he spoke with simple calmness with every word layered with disappointment and Cersei honestly didn't know which was worse. "All you needed to be was patient and understanding to him as well as treat his daughter with caring-" At that point Cersei could no longer hold her tongue.

"We are lions father, we do not adopt the spawn of stags and wolves."

"Except when it benefits us." Tywin said back, all the while wondering about his daughter's intellect, or the lack of it. Had she been this narrow minded when she had first married Robert? He didn't know for sure. "If you had done that instead of trying to drive a wedge between Baratheon and his daughter then she would view you as a mother, Joffrey as a brother and she would never allow Baratheon to remove his status as heir."

With his words done Tywin grabbed a piece of parchment and started looking over reports from the Westerlands, though his daughter clearly didn't realise that he had silently dismissed her as she took a seat opposite him.

"Your still here." He said not looking up from the parchment in front of him.

"I want to know what you are planning to do." Cersei didn't ask, she demanded. Tywin contemplated whether or not he should inform his daughter about the loophole he had found in the law Robert had used to name to Selene his heir. The law required that Joffrey himself had to be the one to issue the challenge.

"There is a loophole in the law that Robert used to pass over both Joffrey and Tommen for the crown." Tywin explained to Cersei.

"And what loophole is that?" Cersei demanded with impatience.

"A trial by combat." He answered causing a large smirk to spread across her face.

 **\- Line Break -**

Tyrion walked the halls of the Red Keep, not entirely sure that he was heading in the right direction. Tyrion had been going over in his mind how to best approach the princess, and how to best explain the situation that the princess would very quickly find herself in in a way that neither she nor her father were tempted to remove his head.

Although if either of them did actually kill him then it was possible that his father wouldn't actually demand a trial of combat. Lannisters pay their debts after all and either of them killing him would rid his father of the dwarf son hated.

Tyrion winced as a draft caused some of the _lovely_ sent of their capital to breeze down the corridor. When one compared Lannisport to King's Landing their was no comparison. True Lannisport had barely half the population of King's Landing, ironic since the capital wasn't massively bigger then the Lannister city, but it was much cleaner, with a proper sewage system to ensure that the city wasn't plagued with all the atrocious stinks of the capital. It was also much more productive. There were no slums in Lannisport, wheres nearly a third of King's Landing seemed to be made up with it. And the sight of King's Landing didn't even come close to all the horrific little deeds that went on in the capital. "The smell is more honest then the sight." Tyrion muttered to himself.

Tyrion continued the walk through the corridors fairly sure he was heading in the right direction, still wondering about what exactly he was going to say. He had only spoken to the princess twice before when she had been visiting Casterly Rock, and neither of those conversations had been particularly long or informative about the kind of person she was.

Tyrion knew he was heading in the right direction as he noticed a subtle but distinct increase in the number of Baratheon guards, and the lack of Lannister guards. He knew Cersei well enough to know that she would never allow any of the Red cloaks to hard the princess, and all the guards his father had brought remained in the city as opposed to the Red Keep.

"Excuse me good sir." Tyrion spoke to the Baratheon guard closest to him.

"What do you want imp?" The guard questioned causing the smile on his face to leave. So much for being polite.

"Inform the princess that I wish to speak to her." He told the guard whose face twitched at the order given to him.

"And why should I do that dwarf?" The Stormlanders really needed to work on their manners, Tyrion observed.

"Tell her it's to do with my father, I'm sure the princess will want to know about it." The guard still looked reluctant so he decided to add a few words for good measure. "And I'm pretty sure that Princess Selene would be very interested in knowing that a certain guardsman would be very interested in knowing that one of her guards had prevented such useful information from reaching her."

"Wait here." The guard snapped as he walked down the corridor while Tyrion resisted the urge to simply the follow the man.

A few minutes later Tyrion heard footsteps coming down the corridor but it wasn't the guardsman coming down the corridor but a member of the Kingsgaurd, Ser Arys Oakheart to be exact. What little Tyrion knew about Ser Arys came from his brother, and Jaime did not have a lot of positive things to say about the young Kingsguard.

 _"An idealistic fool with dreams of honour, a boy despite his years,"_ Jaime had scornfully described the young Oakheart, Tyrion however had his own thoughts about him. Tyrion did not know the princess, but he knew of her and she wasn't the type of person to tolerate fools.

"Selene will speak to you." Arys informed him. Selene, so Ser Arys was on first name basis with he princess and didn't even call her by her title. Certainly said a lot about the trust that Selene placed in her guards. Cersei never allowed any guards to refer to her by anything but her title, but while he didn't know the princess he knew his knew his sister and the two were as similar as day and night.

"Thank you my good Ser." Tyrion told him as he followed Ser Arys to the princess's quarters. "Your recently took a squire did you not Ser Arys?"

"I have, Jon Snow."

"Eddard Stark's bastard son is he not?"

"Yes he is." Tyrion wouldn't mind meeting the son of Eddard Stark, after all the bastard of someone whop was regarded as the most honourable man in Westeros was bound to be at least slightly interesting.

"Here we are." Arys answered as he opened the door to the princess's quarters. Rather then look at the princess Tyrion instead looked around the room. You could learn more about someone from their possessions then you could from a simple conversation.

There was a bookshelf in the corner, one that was completely packed with books and scrolls, many of which looked absolutely ancient. Tyrion itched to get his hands on some of those. It would be quite a read.

Her bedding was in a pale green colour while her wardrobe which happened to be opened appeared to have a lot of green coloured dresses with fewer in Baratheon gold and black. While the princess was proud of her Baratheon heritage she didn't seem especially fond of the colours used by the ancient Storm Kings.

Sitting at the desk in the back of the room with a large window and balcony was Princess Selene Baratheon herself. The princess was certainly a beautiful woman with porcelain skin, flowing raven coloured hair and piercing blue eyes and an athletic body that was strangely appealing. There was no doubt that even if she wasn't a princess and future queen that she would still have a large score of men after her hand.

"Lord Tyrion." Selene spoke in greeting.

"Princess."

"What can I do for you?" Tyrion was good at reading people and the princess seemed genuinely curious. No apparent anger or annoyance about the way that a dwarf had demanded a meeting with her, just genuine curiosity. That alone set her apart from most noble ladies he had met, and even women in general.

"Well, you could tell your guards to have more manners." He spoke in a half joking manner, causing her to laugh.

"Well Orys has always been very blunt and not one to care for his words but I'll remind him to be mindful of who he's speaking to."

 _'He was mindful of who he was speaking to. The imp of Casterly Rock,'_ Tyrion though to himself. Tyrion had gone over many different methods about how to approach the matter with the princess but in the end he had decided for the quick and to the point approach. "I'll be blunt about why I'm here princess. It's about the law regarding the one that the King used to name you his heir." He could see the princess's eyes lighting up with interest. "More specifically about a loophole. Joffrey can demand a trial by combat, and due to you being made heir you personally will have to fight Joffrey's champion."

"You're father's champion you mean." Selene spoke, her face now an unreadable expression. "Don't suppose there's any chance that it'll be a useless piece of shit like Boros Blount?"

Tyrion gave her a sad smile. "No it's not."

"Gregor fucking Clegane, the Mountain that Rides." Selene spoke with anger at the hated monster. A being that could very well be the love child between a giant and Bellatrix Lestrange for his cruelty and sheer size. Selene also had her own personal reasons for wanting Clegane dead.

Selene wanted Clegane dead, but she knew that in a fair fight the odds of her besting someone like Clegane were less then ideal. "Why are you telling me this Lord Tyrion?" She asked him curiously. What reason did he have to tell her what Tywin Lannister.

"Guilt princess." He answered to her confusion. "I was the one who found the book that lead to my father learning that he could use a trial by combat to challenge you."

"You blame yourself for what you believe will happen to me." Selene stated.

"Yes." He answered even though it wasn't a question.

"Then I can ensure you Lord Tryion that you need not feel any guilt. Tywin would have found out about the loophole sooner or later and at least this way I don't need to worry about either him or your sister sending someone to cut my throat in my sleep." Selene spoke surprising him.

"You mean you aren't angry." Tyrion had honestly expected the princess to be completely wroth with rage and potentially even threaten him and his family, he wasn't expected this calm and accepting appearances.

"Oh I can aside you Lord Tyrion that I am furious." The tone used by the princess showed as much. "But I don't blame you but your father, and to lesser extent my own for unknowingly forcing me into this mess."

"Okay princess, well I'll take my leave." Tyrion said as he turned to the door but just before he left.

"Tyrion." Selene called out causing him to look back at her. "Thank you." She spoke sincerely and he nodded to her as he then left.

 **\- Line Break -**

"Blasted Martells." Her father groaned. "Gods Jon I really didn't think that Doran Martell would bother to send anyone, never mind that blasted Red Viper." Her father complained to Jon Arryn who was frowning in concentration.

"Doran Martell is too cunning not to send someone, though I admit I didn't expect him to send his brother." Jon stated as he considered Doran's plan. What did the Prince of Dorne hope to gain by sending his reckless and dangerous brother to the capital. "There's also the matter of who he's bringing."

"He bringing those bastards of his?" Robert questioned angrily.

"Yes, and by all accounts the self named 'Sand Snakes' are some of Dorne's greatest warriors." Jon answered while Selene held back a scoff. Obara and Nymeria were warriors, and skilled ones at that, the rest of the Sand Snakes left much to be desired. Selene could still remember the ease with which Brienne had bested Tyene when they were at Sunspear. She wondered if the woman's nose had healed properly after Brienne had broken it. She had to resist a smile as she remembered the incident. Brienne had certainly put that uppity little brat in her place.

"How many of his daughters is he bringing?" Selene asked the Lord of the Eyrie.

"The oldest three, at least according to Lord Varys."

 _'Obara, Nymeria and Tyene, well that'll be fun,'_ Selene thought to herself. Obara from what Selene could remember wasn't the brightest person she had met, in fact at times she almost seemed as thick as two planks but she was certainly the most skilled Sand Snake and indeed one of Dorne's better warriors.

Nymeria was smarter then her sister and almost as skilled in combat as her, making her more dangerous and certainly someone to keep and eye on in the capital. Tyene may not be as skilled a warrior as her elder two sisters but she was exceptionally skilled with poisons and Selene wouldn't put it above the Sand Bitch to use such poisons in the capital.

"Well I'm going to prepare for their arrival. Father, Lord Jon." Selene spoke as she left the room and went on the way to her chambers, meeting Brienne along the way.

"You know the way that everyone is complaining about the Dornish they seem to forget that they were invited to the capital along with all the lords of Westeros." Brienne spoke, her voice showing her irritation at the way that people talked about the Dornish.

"The Dornish have never had the best reputation north of the Marches. Combine that with their more liberal nature and it is easy to think of them as degenerates." Selene spoke back.

"A sign of narrow minded stupidity." Brienne answered back. The way people had mocked her constantly for years left Brienne with a bitter dislike to rumour mangers who had nothing better to do then to spread dislike.

"True." Selene admitted to her friend, paying no mind to the servants and other workers who were watching the two of them intensely as they made their way through the Red Keep. Spies for one master or another they all were.

"Are you expecting trouble?" Brienne asked.

"Oberyn's to smart to personally cause trouble. Despite his reputation if he attempts treason he'll find himself in a cell." Although she probably couldn't call it treason since as far as Selene was aware no Martell had sworn any oaths of loyalty to any Baratheon. "Those he brings however..." Selene trailed off.

"The Sand Snakes." Brienne said with clear dislike in her voice.

"Not your favourite group?" Selene asked with a smile.

"Gods no." Brienne replied. "Do you think they'll cause trouble?"

"Obara won't do anything her father doesn't permit and Nymeria's smart enough not to cause unnecessary trouble. Tyene however is smart enough to cause to trouble but not smart enough to realise the consequences. She'll need to be watched."

"I'll put a few men on her."

"Good." Selene said as they arrived at her chambers.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene stood in the throne room, alongside her father as she awaited the Dornish party. She knew that she was not going to enjoy what she had no doubt was going to be a massive pissing contest between the lords of Westeros. The large doors to the throne room opened and the Dornish party marched through the great hall.

At their head was Prince Oberyn Martell, looking nearly exactly like he had when Selene had met him, although his hair seemed to be cut shorter. There were various nobles from Dorne, but not a large amount, and though Selene was no expert on Dornish houses a lot of them appeared to be minor Dornish houses of little significance. With the exception of the Martells the only man who appeared to be from any significant Dornish house was someone who looked like he was of Valyrian descent and she guessed he was a member of house Dayne.

As the Prince of Dorne walked towards the Iron Throne Selene eyed those that follower end him. She spotted his three oldest daughters closely following their father, with the exotic Arianne Martell and her younger brother Quentyn while the head of house Martells guards Areo Hotah followed closely behind his young charges.

Quentyn Martell wasn't much to look at, being stocky and plain faced, the kind of person to be overlooked and he didn't strike her as being exceptionally intelligent or cunning, but she could be wrong. Arianne however was buxom and beautiful with dark eyes and hair, full lips and large breasts in a very revealing dress. She like her brother wasn't exceptionally intelligent but she was good at manipulating and seducing others, making her the more dangerous of the two.

 _'And beautiful enough to tempt a Septa,'_ Selene thought to herself as she resisted the urge to roam her eyes across the Dornish princess's figure. Though she generally preferred men, when confronted with someone as gorgeous as Arianne Martell Selene couldn't help but let her eyes and mind wander.

Though at least she wasn't openly gawking at her like some of those present in the court. Jon had a small blush on his face at the sight of the princess's more then revealing dress while Ser Arys was looking anywhere but at Arianne.

"Your Grace, I would like to thank you for extending the invitation to house Nymerous Martell." Oberyn said bowing his head to her father. The Red Viper's words were well measured and polite. His posture and eyes however showed he wanted nothing more then to drive his spear through her father's heart, and a quick glance at her father showed that he wanted to do the same to the Dornishman with his war hammer.

"I looked for you on the Trident," Robert began with his voice slow and measured. "I would have thought you would be alongside your uncle." Jon Arryn looked at her father in alarm while Selene resisted the urge to face palm. Of all the things her father could have said he had to bring up Lewyn Martell and remind Oberyn of yet another member of his family killed in the war.

 _'Thank the gods Lyn Corbray hasn't reached the capital yet,'_ Selene thought because she had no doubt that the wielder of Lady Forlorn was right up their with Tywin Lannister and Gregor Clegane on the list of people that the Martells wanted dead. Honestly how Corbray could even boast about slaying Lewyn Martell she didn't even know when not only was the Dornish prince by all accounts already fatally wounded but still managed to injure Corbray in the process.

"Indeed, I was in Lys at the time of the battle but if you want," The prince snapped his fingers and one of the guards handed his spear to him. "The two of us can have our dual here and now?" Oberyn offered with a shark like grin, causing the Kingsgaurd to reach for the swords while the Martell guards did the same.

There was nothing but a very tense silence for a few moments before her father let out a bellowing laught, soon followed by Oberyn and the rest of the hall. Although most like Selene herself were laughing simply to defuse the tension. "I'd forgotten what a _unique_ sense of humour you Dornish had, but perhaps we can have our dual another time." Selene was pretty sure she wasn't the only person relieved by that, because presently her father would be lucky to last one minute against the Red Viper, a better shape he may be in he still had a long way to go before he could take on someone like Oberyn Martell.

"I look forward to it my King." Oberyn spoke to her father before looking in her direction. "Ah princess, you are truly the a vision of beauty."

If Selene hadn't been looking directly at Oberyn she wouldn't have noticed, but while he spoke to her his eyes glanced at Jon. It was only for a second and she wasn't certain if she had caught it but he had definitely glanced at Jon. And in that moment something completely unreadable filled his eyes present for only a moment before he glanced back at her.

"I thank you my prince." Selene replied all the while her mind was trying to work out the connection between Jon and Oberyn Martell. "I'm pleased a you were able to make it to the capital."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." The shark like grin of the Red Viper was worrying. Selene had always found both Oberyn and Doran Martell unnerving. The way they acted, their every word and action just seemed to be laced with danger and warning.

Selene would be the first to admit that the Martells had every reason to hate the Baratheons, but if Oberyn or any of his daughters, niece and nephew were to make any attempt on her family and those that she cared about then she would make sure that they would suffer in any way that she could.

 **\- Line Break -**

Yara was not impressed with the capital. How could she be when despite the distance from her ship to the docks of the capital she could still smell the shit, and piss and the Drowned God knows what else.

The smell was truly making her reconsider going to the capital. How, honestly how anyone could tolerate this smell was unbelievable. True Pyke was hardly the picture of cleanliness and carried its own less then desirable odour but the capital was unbelievable.

"This princess better be worth it." Yara muttered to herself as her ship got closer to King's Landing.

 **\- Line Break -**

"And here he comes, the strutting peacock." Ser Arys spoke scornfully as they watched the Tyrell party enter the great hall. Ser Arys wasn't wrong Jon noted as Mace Tyrell walked through the hall. Jon had only ever seen drawings of peacocks but the way the Lord of Highgarden strutted around the great hall with enough arrogance that one would believe he was in fact the King, Jon could certainly see the resemblance to a peacock.

 _'People do not like house Tyrell,'_ Jon observed because he knew for a fact that more then a few members of the court shared Ser Arys' dislike of the lords of Highgarden. Oberyn Martell was openly glaring at Mace Tyrell, and so was Edmure Tully though to a lesser extent. The King was frowning while Lord Arryn and Selene kept small smiles on their faces though Jon knew that they weren't genuine.

On the day's upcoming to the Tyrell arrival at the capital Jon had witnessed lords from all over Westeros showing a great deal of dislike to not only the Reach but the Tyrells as well, and by the way Ser Arys was openly glaring at Lord Mace it was clear that the Reach born Kingsguard was no exception.

Along with the plumb man with a bushy moustache who strutted through the Great Hall like he owned it was four men. One of them had the same coloured long brown hair as Mace Tyrell and a striking similarity to Loras Tyrell. Jon guessed that this was Garlan Tyrell, the second son of Mace Tyrell, but he didn't know who the other men were.

One was a balding man with a stern expression that reminded Jon a bit of Stannis Baratheon and the man also had a great sword strapped to his back. The second man was stout, florid and clean shaven with a golden tree stitched on his clothes. The third man with Mace Tyrell and his son was stooped shouldered, with balding hair and a slim frame.

"Randyll Tarly, Lord of Horn Hill and the man to defeat the King in battle." Ser Arys informed him of the identities of one of the men with Mace Tyrell. "Mathis Rowan Lord of Goldengrove and Paxter Redwyne Lord of the Arbor."

"Why is he presenting those men alongside him?" Jon asked Arys while the men reached the Iron Throne and began the series of horse shit that included trying to butter up the King and his cousin.

"What did the princess say that the kingdoms were doing?"

"One massive pissing contest."

"Yep, the Tyrells are reminding Westeros that they not only possess more infantry, ships and horses then any other kingdom in Westeros but they have men to lead them. Rowan, Tarly and Redwyne are some of the most experienced battle commanders in Westeros, one of which who even bested the King himself."

"I thought Mace Tyrell was a fool?" Jon questioned.

"He is but that doesn't mean the rest of his family is, and his son Garlan is one of the finest warriors of the Reach. The Queen of Thorns is reminding Westeros that house Tyrell is to be taken seriously." The bitterness in Ser Arys' voice showed the less then stellar opinion his mentor had to the Tyrell matriarch.

Jon guessed that Garlan also wasn't like Loras Tyrell then, and by looking at Garlan it appeared obvious. The Knight of Flowers had the air of undeserved and unearned arrogance and strutted around like he felt he was better then everyone. Jon had been far from impressed by Ser Loras. Garlan however didn't strut around and act all entitled, his eyes roamed the court and he seemed almost dangerous.

Selene hadn't said much about the Tyrells, but there were plenty in the capital whop had plenty to say. All agreed that they were not to be taken lightly, and that they were dangerous people to cross.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene sighed as she sipped her drink. It wasn't Arbor Gold, or any other wine or ale. She was simply drinking water, she needed to think, needed to plan. Tomorrow would be the first feast of the gathering of all the lords of Westeros and she knew that was when it was going to happen, Joffrey was going to demand a trial by combat.

Selene knew that she was a good fighter, but she had yet to reach the calibre that she could take on someone like the Mountain in a fight. Selene had been training with Ser Barristan nearly every day since Tyrion had told her of what Tywin fucking Lannister was planning, despite his age Ser Barristan's skills were nothing short of legendary.

She knew that without a decent plan she would have no chance of surviving against the Mountain, at least not in a fair fight. What was worse was that she couldn't even have Clegane killed, no cutthroat or assassin would dare go near him and attempting the dead herself opened up a lot of potential problems if she was to fail.

She couldn't even try poisoning him. If Clegane was the victim of a poison attempt, regardless of whether he survived or not then the blame would automatically fall on the Martells, leading to a war with the one kingdoms that was able to resist the Targaryens. Only a fool or a madman would want to risk war with Dorne, especially one that involved invading the desert kingdom.

And even if by some miracle she was able to deal with Clegane that didn't change the fact that Tywin Lannister had no shortage of exceptional warriors capable of taking her on in a fight, one of which happened to be the Kingslayer. Say what you want about Jaime Lannister his skill with a blade was second only to Ser Barristan.

She needed more time that was the only solution, more time to prepare.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. "Enter." She called out and one her of guards entered the room. "Does Pycelle have company?" Selene asked him.

"He does. Poor girl, whore or not being with someone like that must be unpleasant."

"That I imagine." Selene replied as she got up with four guards following her as she lead the way to Pycelle's chambers in the Red Keep. "Knock the door down." Selene ordered once they reached Pycelle's chambers.

One well placed kick from the guard and the door was open, startling Pycelle who was in the process of screwing the whore in his bed. Selene did not look, she did not want that image in her mind, it would scar her for life.

"Get dressed Pycelle." Selene ordered while her guards entered the room. Selene couldn't tell for certain due to the commotion but she was fairly sure that she had heard a sigh of relief coming from the whore who was still laying naked in the bed as Pycelle was dragged off of her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Pycelle protested when she entered the room where he was thankfully covered with a tunic.

Rather then answer she turned to the woman still laying naked in the bed who watched them curiously. Taking her coin punch Selene threw it to the woman who raised an eyebrow in question. "Don't tell anyone about what's happened."

To Selene's surprise the woman threw the money right back at her. "I'm one of his favourites and Littlefinger ensures that I remain one. Fucking this old lecher is disgusting."

Pycelle opened his mouth to protest but Selene spoke before he could say anything. "Keep quiet Pycelle, you are hardly the man any woman dreams of having in her bed."

"As long as I don't have to fuck him again then you can keep your gold." The woman said as she proceeded to leave Pycelle's chambers, unbothered by her nudity.

"You can leave us." Selene dismissed her guards, causing Pycelle to pale as they were left alone, or more specifically alone with no witnesses. "You can relax Pycelle, if I was going to harm you then I would have done so already." She reassured him as she walked over to his desk and began searching.

"Ah, here it is." She muttered pleased as she found the book about the laws of the Iron Throne and proceeded to toss it onto the open furnace.

When she turned back to Pycelle she noticed immediately that the man was no longer keeping up appearances. He stood with a straight back, reaching a rather impressive hight and his face no longer possessed the near constant state of wariness that she was used to. His eyes were another change, they now shone with a keen intelligence rather then the feeble appearance that the Grand Maester had been showing for decades.

People who believed Pycelle to be a fool were nothing but fools themselves. One did not become a Grand Maester and a member of Small Council by being a fool. No, Pycelle was good at pretending to be a fool but the man himself wasn't one.

"Congratulations Princess, that book was the only copy in the capital of the law your father used to name you his heir, and the loophole to remove your newfound status." Pycelle was more then aware of Tywin's plan and had quickly found a copy of the laws of the crown within the Red Keep to show the legitimacy of Tywin being able to challenge the princess to a trial by combat. He didn't know how the princess knew of Tywin's plan but it did not take a genius to realise why she was here and why she had burned that very book. "Meaning all that I need to do is send a raven to Oldtown and have the Maesters confirm my writings. You have bought yourself the time it takes for a raven to reach Oldtown and back."

"You are right. With your word and influence of Grand Maester then the Arch Maesters will take at best merely a day to confirm your words." Selene admitted. "But that requires you personally contacting them."

Pycelle's eyes widened and he began to sweat slightly. "You mean to have me killed?" He asked which she didn't reply to. Truthfully Selene actually had no intention of killing the Grand Maester, he'd never been unpleasant to her, and he was hardly guilty of any crimes worthy of being killed or executed. Breaking his oaths of chastity was hardly something that earned his death and nor was giving information to the Lannisters when half the people in King's Landing did that. But if Pycelle believed that she would kill him then he would be far more malleable.

"Answer my questions." She stated. "When did you start serving Tywin Lannister?"

"Not long after he became Hand of the King."

"Why?"

"I've served four different kings. Aegon the Fifth, Jaehaerys the Second, the Mad King and your father. Aegon's love of the common people and the actions of his children had alienated lords throughout Westeros. Jaehaerys was weak and couldn't even lead his own armies against the band of Nine, while your father drinks and whores the realm into chaos and debt. Aerys was a mad man yet with Tywin as Hand the realm experienced a thriving golden age. If Lord Tywin had been born a Targaryen instead of a Lannister then he would have been one of the greatest kings to ever live and we would not be having this conversation."

"No we wouldn't be. What actions have you done under Tywin's orders? Start from the beginning."

What followed was a long list of Small Council meetings that Pycelle explained about how he had backed various proposals proposed by the Lord of Casterly Rock. Most of it was now insignificant, though she was surprised by how under Tywin's orders Pycelle had been using his position as Grand Maester to alienate Princess Elia and any support that she had in the capital.

"Tell me about the Sack of King's Landing." Selene ordered and she was more then slightly surprised by not only use the way Pycelle hesitated but by the look of guilt that quickly passed over his features. It had long since been rumoured that the Grand Maester had been involved in the sack but Selene neither knew if that was the truth or the extent of Pycelle's role.

"When Lord Tywin's army came to the capital there was no hope of stopping him. Aerys' paranoia prevented him from increasing the size of the Gold Cloaks like they would normally be during times of war. If Tywin attacked they would have taken the capital regardless so I advised the King to open the gate."

"After which he proceeded to sack it." Selene pointed out, causing a much more clear flash of guilt to pass over his eyes.

Pycelle may not be the most faithful man, yet he was still a Maester of the Citadel and he was sworn to protect and serve, and the Sack of King's Landing had long been an act that he had felt guilt about. Between 45,000 to 60,000 people had lost their lives, which hadn't been necessary. The gates were open and the city watch were hopelessly outnumbered. Lord Tywin could have taken the city bloodlessly yet he had turned it into by far the most brutal act of war in the entire rebellion.

"Indeed. I also directed where the Targaryen guards in capital should be, ensuring that they would be least capable of combating the Lannister forces. I also ensured that guards loyal to Aerys were with Elia Martell."

"Why?" Selene asked with intrigue.

"Princess Elia was not a stupid woman and knew that she would be target and I had no doubt that she prepared means of escaping the capital but with those loyal to Aerys guarding her she would have been unable to leave."

"And no doubt those guards were worthless when Clegane and Lorch came for Elia Martell and her children." Selene stated in disgust as she glared at the Grand Maester who fidgeted slightly at the intensity of her glare.

"It was necessary."

"Necessary?!" Selene snarled. "A princess is brutally raped, while her son's head is bashed on a wall while her daughter was stabbed no less then half a hundred times, after which the princess was later cut in half. That is necessary is it?"

"Does it really matter how they died? Does it matter that Rhaenys was stabbed half a hundred times instead of her throat being slit? Does it matter that Aegon was bashed into a wall then smothered by a pillow? And does it matter if Elia was cut in half instead of being stabbed in the heart?

"I was there when the bodies of Princess Elia and her children were presented to your father, Lords Stark, Tully and Arryn. Of the four of them only Lord Stark was truly disgusted by what happened. Both Jon Arryn and Hoster Tully said that it could have been done in a cleaner way but neither of them had any intention of allowing Elia and her children to live, and your father." Pycelle snorted before continuing. "He spat at the their bodies and actually rewarded Lord Tywin for it."

Selene stilled at Pycelle's words as anger coursed through her. She had heard the rumours about her father's reaction to the bodies of the Targaryens but she didn't believe them. Robert Baratheon had his faults, she would admit that but she refused to believe that her father had taken any actual joy or pleasure at the sight of the dead Targaryens. "You will hold your tongue."

"Why? If you are going to kill me then what do my words really matter?" Pycelle demanded, his willingness to accommodate Selene fading rapidly.

"Tomorrow morning before the entire court you are going to confess to breaking your oaths of chastity and resign from your position as Grand Maester and make the journey to Oldtown." Selene told him.

"And if I don't?" Pycelle challenged her.

"Then I will tell Oberyn Martell about the role you played in his sister's death." Pycelle paled at that. "The choice is really yours Maester Pycelle, you can confess your crimes and spend the rest of your life living comfortably in Oldtown, or I will take you to Oberyn Martell and you won't live to see tomorrow."

"I accept. But why have my position as Grand Maester removed?"

"It shouldn't take the Citadel more then two at most three days to decide that Tywin Lannister within his rights to demand a trial by combat but with your position as Grand Maester removed then they'll need to elect a new Grand Maester and rather then send a raven they'll send the response with the new Grand Maester who'll need to travel from Oldtown to King's Landing. That alone will bye me a fortnight."

"You are under the impression that the Lannisters will give you a fortnight."

Selene smiled. "Tywin Lannister is many things but petty he is not. In his mind a fight between me and the Mountain will lead to my death so what does it matter if the fight is to take place tomorrow or in a fortnight's time?" Pycelle had no response for that. "Good night Pycelle." Selene told him as she got up and left the soon to be former Grand Maester's chambers.

 **\- Line Break -**

The feast was in full swing. Music was playing, people were dancing and Jon was not feeling comfortable or relaxed. This entire scene was simply not something that the bastard of Winterfell was used to. True he had been to feasts at Winterfell, but none of them had been anything like the feast that King had thrown.

As a result he found himself sitting on his own at a table in the far end of the hall. Or at least he was sitting on his own before someone say down opposite him. The boy was chubby. In fact that was a bit of an understatement, the boy was down right fat. "Hello." Jon spoke to him.

"Hi," the boy said smiling nervously. "I'm Samwell, but people call me Sam."

"I'm Jon." He said as he shook the boys handing, noting how sweaty it was, a sign that the boy was nervous, and probably as uncomfortable as he himself was in the feast. "Why are you here?"

Sam grimaced at the question. "Getting away from them." Sam answered with a pointed look towards a group of young nobles from the Reach, which at the centre wad the Knight of Flowers.

Jon nodded in understanding. "Knights of summer my father would call them. Fools who like to pretend at war."

"My father has his own description for them," Sam answered. "Idiots that will fall in seconds in battle."

Yara couldn't deny that the greenlanders sure knew how to throw a party. Their wine was also hell of a lot better then the piss that was brewed in the Iron Islands. And since she was a Greyjoy she was left on her own rather then being badgered by every other young noble who seemed to believe they were the Drowned God's, or rather the Seven's gift to women, like the princess was.

Yara had yet to have a chance to actually speak properly to the young stag, there just never seemed to be an opportunity. Yara however quickly saw her opportunity when she noticed that the princess sat down at her table after her latest dance.

Standing up Yara quickly made her way to the princess and took a seat opposite her, not bothering to ask for permission.

"Lady Yara."

"Princess."

"What can I do for?" Selene asked as she sipped her drink, staring intently at the Ironborn sitting opposite her.

"I wished to speak to you about my brother Theon, I understand that you recently visited Winterfell."

"And you want to know if I think that he will make a worthy Lord of the Iron Islands." Selene continued and Yara couldn't help but stare at her in shock. How did she know why she was here. "As frustrating as he can be, Lord Varys is also remarkably efficient in his job role and reported about how the daughter of Balon Greyjoy met with her uncle Rodrik not long after news of Victarion Greyjoy's death reached the Iron Islands."

Yara was thrown off her guard, she hadn't expected Selene Baratheon to know the purpose of why she had come to the capital. Her plan had been to ask about her brother, about his faults and subtly ask about whether or not he was best suited to rule the Iron Islands, as well as pointing out her own capabilities. Now that plan was completely useless.

"And what do you think?" Yara asked.

"I'm not particularly fond of your brother, but that doesn't mean that I am going to remove his right to rule Pyke."

Yara noted that she hadn't actually said no. "Yet I can't help but note that you haven't said anything about ruling the Iron Islands as a whole." She pointed out causing Selene to smile.

"Before we continue I have one question. Do you consider yourself a Greyjoy or a Harlaw?" That was the big question. Harlaw wasn't like the rest of the Iron Islands. Yara was no great student of history but she knew that the Ironborn had first started raiding because they couldn't grow the food that they needed to survive, but Harlaw could, it was the granary of the Iron Islands and by far the most well fed.

Due to the more easily harvested food the people of Harlaw were less inclined to raid alongside their fellow Ironborn and her uncle Rodrik's reputation as a moderate and peaceful man had clearly spread beyond the Iron Islands. The princess was asking her whether she considered herself more like her foolish father or more like her realistic and cautious uncle. Rodrik Harlaw was more of a father to her then Balon Greyjoy was and she know the answer.

"A Harlaw." She answered.

"Then tomorrow I'll speak to you about your proposition." The princess didn't say any more because at that moment Oberyn Martell came to the princess.

"Would you like a dance?" The Red Viper asked he princess holding out his hand.

"I would love to my prince." Selene answered taken the offered hand.

"You look absolutely ravishing princess." Oberyn whispered into her ear and Selene shivered slightly. Though the Dornish prince wasn't necessary someone she would normally desire, it was hard when the Dornish man just seemed to exude sexuality and passion.

"Careful my prince." Selene warned. "Coming on to a woman less then half your age says a lot about your lack of self control."

Oberyn simply laughed in response. "I am a man of passions princess."

"Indeed you are." Selene replied as they continued dancing.

"You seem nervous, princess." Oberyn probed for information.

"Waiting for something to happen my prince." Selene answered a she caught sight of Joffrey walking towards the front of the great hall.

"And what is that?"

"For everything to go to shit." She answered as she stepped away from him as Joffrey reached the front of the great hall. She knew that it would be happening now.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" Joffrey called out in a surprisingly strong voice, gathering the attention of everyone in the great hall. "Tonight is a time of celebration. My sister has been declared the heir to the Iron Throne." Joffrey's voice was remarkably reasonable and sound, with only the barest hint of anger in it.

"Unfortunately her new found position will create many problems for her. After all their will always be those out there who will wish to challenge her reign. I'm simply the first. And before this hall of lords I demand a trial by combat to challenge my sister Selene's claim to the Iron Throne."

 **End of chapter 9.**

 **Also Dorne and all Dornish characters will be based on the book version rather then the show version which completely screwed up what is probably the most interesting kingdom in the books. Oberyn Martell is the only Dornishman that HBO's game of thrones wasn't completely shit and now the show has efficiently ended everything remotely to do with Dorne.**


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter was a pain to write. Sorry for the delay but I've been busy with real life combined with a lack of inspiration. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 10**

Oberyn wasn't surprised, disgusted yes but certainly not surprised. Tywin Lannister wasn't a man who would let his legacy slip away from him without a fight, of course he would make an attempt on the Princess' life, although the Red Viper was surprised that Tywin was actually calling a trial by combat rather then simply sending someone to cut Selene's throat in her sleep.

Oberyn glanced around the training grounds of the Red Keep where the trial by combat was taking place, various lords and ladies of Westeros taking their seats as they waited for the contestants to turn up. Oberyn used the opportunity to study the expressions of the various lords. The lords of the Stormlands were outraged by what was happening, the bannermen of Storm's End had all been united behind the princess, and more then a few of them had loudly objected to the trial taking place. The lords of the Westerlands however had been the opposite, they had repeatedly stated that Joffrey was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne and that the princess was nothing but a usurper.

But those opinions had been obvious, it was the rest of Westeros that interested Oberyn. The Reach had mostly been supportive of prince Joffrey and while some houses like the Florents and Oakhearts had favoured the princess, most were firmly supportive of the Lannister spawn. In fact Oberyn had actually overheard several Hightower knights give the princess the unflattering nickname of Rhaenyra the Second. The Vale had mostly been supportive of the Princess, with the exception of the odd house here and there. Not surprising as he knew that Selene had visited the Vale several times and was close with many key houses like the Royces. The sole Ironborn favoured the princess, although that wasn't surprising since the young Greyjoy wished to use the princess as a precedent in order to cement her own hopes of ruling the Iron Islands.

The Riverlands, as with every political event and conflict since the dawn of time had been divided. The Mallisters, Blackwoods, and Pipers had supported Selene while the Freys, Vances and Brackens had all supported Joffrey. Edmure Tully had been rather neutral, showing a strange amount of wisdom considering his reputation and had simply observed both candidates, assessing which would be the better option, though he seemed to find the princess preferable, rather surprising since he knew the Tullys were loosing a rather decent amount of gold thanks to the Stormlands new agricultural methods.

Personally between the two Baratheons Oberyn would support the princess, and that had nothing to do with Dornish customs that favoured the eldest. Oberyn glanced at the Lannister coloured Baratheon only to turn away in disgust, the boy was practically salivating at the upcoming fight. It truly sickened Oberyn that the boy was so eager to watch his sister die and if he already possessed a sadistic streak when he was only thirteen then the Dornish Prince truly dreaded what he would be like when he was older and actually managed to sit on the Iron Throne.

Oberyn glanced at the rest of the royal family. The two young children, Tommen and Myrcella, both looked terrified about what was happening, despite their young age both the children knew that their was a very good chance that they were going to watch their older sister die. The Lannister queen had a massive grin on her face, not even bothering to put up any kind of pretense while the king seemed to be going back and forth between rage and fear about what he was feeling. If it was any other man then Oberyn would have felt sorry for him but for the Baratheon king who had spat at Elia's body after the Lannisters had butchered her, he felt no sympathy whatsoever.

A hushed silence fell over the crowd as the combatants entered the training grounds and Oberyn saw red. Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides, and the man who had raped and murdered his sister. Oberyn's body tensed as he gripped his chair tightly, resisting the urge to grab his spear and charge at the Mountain, driving his poisoned blade through the monsters heart.

"Calm yourself lover." A soothing voice told him as Ellaria held his hand with her own, calming him down slightly.

"The Baratheon girl's going to fight THAT." His daughter Nym stated with a small amount of horror at the sheer size of Clegane. He was called the Mountain for good reason.

"Unless she's careful she's going to be killed by that." His oldest Obara stated. That was true, while the princess was indeed a very skilled fighter she did not yet possess the skill to take on someone of the Mountain's calibre.

Oberyn teared his eyes away from Clegane and looked at Selene Baratheon. She wore a simply chain mail suited ideally for her, which honestly offered little protection, and she had no shield, only a longsword. It was clear that the Princess intended to use her speed, a smart decision against an opponent as reliant on strength as the Mountain, but if she failed to dodge or block a blow then that armour would do nothing to save her. The girl had her hair braided and tied to prevent it from getting in the way, or being grabbed and he also noticed a dagger on her belt as well. From he angle he couldn't get a proper look, but it seemed to be a remarkably expensive dagger.

It was the sword that the princess wielded that drew his eyes. It wasn't the same sword that the princess had been using the last few weeks to train, he should know he had been watching her train many times, even sparring with her a few times.

The new Grandmaester Marwyn, mocked Marwyn the Mage by his fellow Maesters according to Sarella due to his obsession with magic and the higher mysteries as opposed to other sciences and studies. "In the sight of gods and men, we are here to ascertain who the rightful heir to the Iron Throne is. Do the the combatants wish to speak any last words?" The question was mostly pointed at the princess, it seemed even the Grandmaester did not have much hope for the princesses chances against the Mountain.

The Mountain merely grunted while Selene did not look at either her opponent or the Grandmaester, instead staring at her family, or more particularly her brother Joffrey. The intense gaze of his sister was enough to force the sadistic grin off the little shits face while a look of worry came over it. "At least I have the courage to face my enemies, can you say the same my darling brother?" The boy flushed especially as the gathered nobles all whispered to each other. Oberyn smirked at the princesses words. She had just pointed out that the boy was a coward in front of all the lords of Westeros. True the boy was only three and ten name days, but the princess was not yet six and ten name days old and yet she was still fighting one of the most ferocious warriors in Westeros.

"Begin." As soon as the word was said the princess drew her sword from its scabbard causing a hushed gasp to fall over the crowd at the sight of the blade.

"Dawn." He muttered in shock. No it wasn't the Daynes ancestral weapon. The blade itself was the same milky white as Dawn but it wasn't Dawn, for starters Dawn didn't glow. To the untrained eye it would look like the sword was on fire with white flames, but it wasn't. The blade shone with a white light, that had absolutely nothing to do with the sun reflecting on it. The blade was truly beautiful and unlike any other sword Oberyn had ever seen.

"Lightbringer." He heard someone whisper. Looking he saw that it was the Red Priest Thoros of Myr who was looking at the princess in shock. Lightbringer, Oberyn glanced back at the sword in Selene's hand. He had never seen a blade like that before, could it truly be the fabled fire sword of legend? And if so how had come to be in the princesses possession?

It wasn't just the audience that was staring captivated by the blade, Gregor Clegane was staring dumbly at it as well. "Ser Gregor, are just going to stand their like a dumb ox or are we going to fight." Selene called out causing Oberyn to laugh. The Princess may be a woman but she certainly wasn't lacking balls.

Clegane let out a bellow of rage as he charged at the princess with a speed that should have been impossible considering his size and the weight of the armour he was wearing, intent on decapitating the princess in one go. With a natural grace Selene ducked under the blow and then swung her sword at Clegane, a loud clang filling the training grounds as her blade connected Ser Gregor's.

 **\- Line Break (Flashback(evil grin)) -**

Yara walked through the corridors of the Red Keep on her way to the Princess's chambers. Just the night before Selene Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne had been challenged in front of all the lords and ladies of Westeros by her younger brother Joffrey. Yara had to admit, it was a bold move. A trial by combat was only used in extreme circumstances and as far as Yara was aware it had never before been used to determine the royal succession.

Although it would certainly be quicker and easier then calling a Great Council as it had been done in the past.

When Yara reached the princess' chambers she didn't bother knocking, she just walked straight through and none of guards made any moves to stop her. Yara found Selene on the floor, knees bent and hands behind her head, pushing her chest up to her knees and and then back to the floor and she was muttering what Yara guessed was numbers.

"That's a strange exercise." She spoke causing to stop her exercise as she glanced at her.

With a small laugh Selene got off the floor. "But rather useful." She replied to the Ironborn. "Would you like a drink?" Selene offered as she poured herself a glass of wine to which Yara agreed as she looked at the princess curiously. Considering that only the night before she had been challenged to a trial by combat she appeared to be remarkably unbothered by it.

Yara sipped the wine while Selene grabbed a book from the shelf in the corner of the room. "Have you ever read this?" Selene asked as she showed Yara the book.

"I'm not much of a reader." Yara admitted. She wasn't illiterate like many Ironborn nobles but she wasn't like her uncle Rodrik. "'The Hoares of the Iron Islands: Raiders or Traders?' by Maester O'Cornorl." She spoke the title as she stared at the princess not understanding why she had given her the book.

"Of all the houses to rule the Iron Islands the Hoares were by far the richest and the most successful. They turned a bunch of backwater islands into a thriving kingdom. Compared to them, your own ancestors honestly can't compare."

Yara frowned, red tinting her cheeks at her words. "Is that so?" She asked with a bit of anger.

"I'm not trying to insult you or your ancestors. I'm just trying to point out that your family hasn't been the wisest of rulers, and best way to forge a good future is to acknowledge the mistakes of the past." Selene stated.

"And your saying your own ancestors are perfect?" Yara asked causing Selene to snort.

"Hardly but there is reason why house Baratheon has gone from mere commoners on Dragonstone to ruling all of Westeros, and house Greyjoy isn't." Selene replied. "You told me yesterday that you considered yourself more of a Harlaw then a Greyjoy,"

"I did." Yara answered even though it wasn't a question.

"Your uncle doesn't have any children, would he be willing to name you the heir of Harlaw?"

"He has offered a few times, why?"

"Theon will still rule Pyke, but you will rule the Iron Islands from Harlaw, if you can prove to me that naming you its ruler is the best choice. Read that book."

"That's all?" Yara asked incredulous.

"No." Selene answered with amusement. "Ironborn raid and pillage-"

"We only do that because we do not have the crops to sustain us." Yara interrupted.

"Exactly." Selene yelled, causing Yara to jump a little in surprise and confusion. "But what you don't understand is that their are alternative ways to get the crops you need in order to survive. Neither the North or the Vale have the farmlands to sustain themselves, otherwise they'll suffer famines."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that the Iron Islands don't need to resort to raiding in order to get the crops they need in order to survive. Use your resources, you have iron ore in abundance, trade it. Edmure Tully is in the capital and not only do the Tullys have fertile lands in abundance but they also have a complete lack of iron ore which makes them the ideal family for you to trade with."

Yara nodded along. The princess made a good point, she wouldn't deny that but what she was suggesting was much harder in reality then it was in theory. "Making a trading deal is easier said then done, my people aren't exactly well liked by greenlanders, especially the people from the Riverlands who were conquered by the Hoares."

"That's why I suggest the Tullys." Selene stated. "Personally I don't actually like Lord Hoster that much, overbearing and overly ambitious, but I do respect him. Lord Hoster is a cunning politician and a skilled businessmen. He may not like Ironborn but he is the kind of man who'll see the benefits of an alliance with you, and with an alliance with the Riverlands feeding the peoples of the Iron Islands will be far easier."

"Raiding is part of our way of life." Yara countered. "While some of the wiser captains will see the benefits of trade, the majority look down on 'the gold price' as opposed to paying the iron price. What's your solution for that?" Many Ironborn lords had attempted to change their culture, her grandfather Quellon for example but they were unsuccessful.

"The reason the lords of Westeros hate the Ironborn is because they are the victims of your raids, but if they weren't the victims then most would be completely indifferent." Selene didn't add any more, waiting for Yara to connect the dots herself.

"But merely raiding Essos wouldn't suffice." Yara stated as her mind worked. "We would still interfere with trade, drawing ire from the lords of Westeros as our raids would impact on it. So you want us to raid pirates. The Stepstones and the Basilisk Isles are but two of many places that are home to countless pirates."

Selene smiled as Yara realised what she was implying. "You and the Iroborn raid lands infested with pirates with permission from the crown and no interference from the royal fleet. Your peoples desires for raids and plunder in satisfied without targeting Westeros, which will help to tie the Iron Islands with the mainland, as not only are we not the victims of the raids but you do us favours by wiping out pirates."

"To trading and raiding." Yara spoke holding up her glass.

"And to killing pirates." Selene replied clinging her glass with Yara's as the two young women drank to their budding alliance.

 **\- Line Break -**

Marwyn the Mage they called him, the fools didn't realise just how accurate that nickname was. To say he didn't get along with his fellow Archmaesters was an understatement of the highest order. In truth they barely tolerated him and his delusions as they called it. It was considered unbecoming of a maester, let alone an Archmaester to be as fascinated with magic as he was.

After an all day meeting with the remaining Archmaesters they had come to the conclusion that Joffrey Baratheon was within his rights to demand a trial by combat to defend his claim as heir to the Iron Throne. And then they had began the debate about who among them should become the new Grandmaester since Pycelle had decided to retire, and action that was intriguing enough on it's own since the Grandmaesters mostly served until their death.

To say that the debate had been long and tedious was an understatement but after hours he had been chosen as the new Grandmaester. It wasn't because of his skills, but was instead an attempt to get him out of the Citadel. After all he was representation of what the Maesters hated most; magic.

When Marwyn entered his private chambers he immediately pulled his bed out. Removing one of the fake floorboards a red glow filled his chambers. Removing the glass candle he couldn't help but stare intensively at it. It was during Robert's rebellion when magic had returned and the glass candles had relight. It hadn't been easy keeping the fact that magic had returned from the rest of the Archmaesters, replacing all the glass candles with fake ones had been but one of many actions he had undertaken to keep the truth hidden

For years he had been trying to keep magic hidden from the rest of his order, the attempts they had taken to eradicate magic from Westeros was in many ways horrifying and he dreaded to think what should happen when the rest of the Maesters learnt that magic had returned to the world. Being in King's Landing would make that information all that much harder to keep hidden, so he'd have to take every artifact with him, which created a big risk. The capital was a vipers nest overwhelmed with spies, it would not be easy.

Besides unless Marwyn was mistaken powerful magic was present within the capital. He wasn't a particularly gifted mage, his collection of ancient texts on magic had allowed him to learn some magic but he had no illusions about his abilities, he may have magic but he was by no means a master of the craft. But he did have the ability to locate magic within others, one of the reasons he had taken the young acolyte 'Alleras' under his wing. He wondered if he could take the acolyte with him to King's Landing but that was besides the point.

The point was that powerful magic was present in the capital, very powerful magic. It both intrigued and worried him, there hadn't been such powerful magic in Westeros since the Dance of the Dragons where not only were all the dragons killed but every member of the Targaryen family who knew of their ancient Valyrian abilities was killed, leaving only children who knew nothing but stories.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene sighed as she sat down, a glass of wine her hand. She was fairly sure that she was starting to drink a bit too much but she blamed her father for that, alcoholic genes and that shit, besides it was well deserved in her opinion. In three days she would be fighting Ser Gregor Clegane. Selene had been training every day since Tyrion had told her of his father's plan.

She had been training with her father, Barristan Selmy, and on a few occasions the Prince of Dorne Oberyn Martell. So say that they had been harsh taskmasters was an understatement. Hell her father could Jaqen a run for his money in terms of brutality, she had been trained by a master assassin yet she still felt like she was going to drop to floor in exhaustion.

She new why her father was pushing her so hard, he blamed himself for what was happening and was trying to ensure that she was skilled enough to take on the Mountain.

A knock on her door drew her attention. "Enter." She called out and Jon entered. "Jon. How are you?" She asked her cousin.

"I'm fine." Jon relied nervously. "And you."

"Besides a massive bruise on my side I'm fine." Selene joked although was lost on Jon who was simply frowned. "Jon the whole brooding act may be attractive but you really need to liven up. Girls like a bit of fun behind the brooding mask." She teased causing him to blush. Jon was just far to easy to tease.

"I- I don't brood." Jon stuttered out.

"Yes you do." She laughed slightly.

"I'm here because I'm worried about you. In three days you'll be fighting the Mountain, are you prepared for it?" Jon was worried, very worried. Even in the far North he'd heard of the Mountain's reputation as the Lannister attack dog and he wasn't sure if Selene could beat him.

Getting up off the chair Selene walked over to Jon and pulled him into a hug. "Trust me Jon, I will not be dying at the hands of Gregor Clegane." She reassured her cousin. "So how are you enjoying the capital?"

"It's good." And Jon wasn't lying, true he still wasn't used to the smell and he didn't think he ever would be, but in the capital he was simply the cousin of a princess and a squire to a Kingsguard, which was better in Winterfell where he was a symbol of how his father had been unfaithful to his lady wife. True some people did still look down on him for being a bastard, but most simply didn't give two shits.

"I heard you have even become friends with Samwell Tarly?" Selene asked curiously, she didn't know much about the son of Randyl Tarly but she did know that his father was meant to be disappointed with him. For a man who was regarded as one of the greatest military generals in all of Westeros, having a scholar of a son had to be a bitter sting.

"I have, he's very different from most of the young nobles from the Reach." Jon stated.

"Meaning he doesn't act like the sun comes out of his ass and we should all be grateful for it." Selene replied causing Jon to snort at his cousins words as he nodded. There were a lot of young pompous teenage nobles from the Reach.

"I've also met the Tyrells briefly." He said causing Selene to grimace.

"You have my sympathies." Selene stated confusing him slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Of all the Tyrells the only ones I actually like are Willas and Garlan." Selene spoke. She didn't the Tyrells, respect them to a certain extent yes but she didn't like them, and she would have to be a fool to trust them. Overly ambitious with no loyalty to anybody but themselves and that wasn't just the current generation of the family either. Mace Tyrell was an imbecile and a coward who reminded her far to much of Cornelius Fudge, Olenna was an overly ambitious bitch that wouldn't hesitate to slit open her own husbands throat if the old crone thought it would benefit her, and if you believed the rumours she actually was responsible for his death. Margaery, Selene actually did have a certain amount of respect for but considering her ambition was rivaled only by her grandmother and that nearly every word that passed the woman's lips was a bald faced lie, it was honestly very hard to genuinely like her. Loras wasn't so bad, even if his arrogant and condescending attitude did get on her nerves. Truthfully Willas and Garlan were the best Tyrells in her opinion.

"Are the rest of them really that bad? I mean I know Loras is arrogant and insulting and Lord Mace is meant to be an idiot-"

"Believe me Jon, Olenna has already made a dozen plans about how you could benefit her, and manipulate you so that you can serve her. Olenna is just as ruthless as Tywin Lannister but twice as manipulative. And Mace Tyrell can't even use the privy without one person holding his hand and another wiping his ass." Selene warned him. It honestly wouldn't surprise her if Olenna was planning on setting Jon up with a minor Tyrell and making arrangements for him to inherit Winterfell.

"So don't trust the Tyrells, or the Lannisters, or Baelish any other family I should be wary of?" Jon asked half jokingly.

"Well I would keep an eye on the Martells." Selene said half jokingly, half seriously. Oberyn Martell was subtle, but not as subtle as he thought himself to be and she had seen him watching Jon a few times.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene groaned as she was once again disturbed from her sleep, dreams constantly plaguing her and preventing her from developing a deep sleep. It had been the same dream since she had returned to the capital, she was dreaming of the Isle of Faces, almost like the island was trying to summon her, which was ironic since she actually was planning on visiting the island.

Getting herself dressed Selene made sure no spies were nearby. Whatever was on that island did not seem content to let her wait, and considering that in two days she was going to be fighting the Mountain there wasn't anywhere near enough time to travel from King's Landing to the Isle of Faces in the Riverlands.

"Destination, determination and deliberation." She muttered as she pictured the destination in her mind as she gathered her magic. Turning on the spot, Selene disappeared with a loud crack, vanishing from the Red Keep.

Selene stumbled slightly but managed to keep herself upright and forced down the bile trying to force it's way up her throat. Selene took a few steady breaths as she tried to get her strength back. Apparition was a straining action, even more so in this life. Selene had long since mastered wandless apparition in her last life so she honestly didn't understand how it was as straining as it was in Westeros. Perhaps the absence of magic, she really had no idea, but it was a lot more magically draining.

Selene looked around her, making sure that she was in the right place and she was. She could see the ruined castle of Harrenhal in the distance, and in the other direction she could see the Isle of Faces. She couldn't be certain from the distance but the island appeared to be mostly covered in forests.

Selene shivered slightly as she stared at the God's Eye. There was powerful magic there, very powerful, almost a bit like she could recall from the powerful magic that was present within Hogwarts, if not even more potent. Slowly she walked towards the lake around the island, not really sure what she was looking for, until after a few moments she saw a small boat being rowed towards the shore.

Waiting patiently for the longboat to reach the shore Selene closely eyed the two people rowing it. They seemed to be dressed in green robes, not to different to the kind of robes that were used by maesters. When they finally reached the shore she took a good long look at both of them. While at first glance their robes were that of a maesters, despite being green in colour, a closer glance showed that despite being robes they appeared to be much more form fitting and less restricting of movements, and they were also armed with daggers. Daggers that she recognised from her vision in Winterfell, jagged and brittle, definitely not ideally suited for combat, or at least ideally suited for combat against people, she realised remembering watching her future self use such a weapon against wights.

"Selene Baatheon, descendant of the Storm and Winter kings?" One of the green men asked her.

"I am. May I ask who you two are?" The two men shared a glance, as if silently discussing whether they should tell her their names.

"I am Priest Dorak, this is Priest Arthur." The same green man answered.

"May I ask what you are priests of?"

"We are priests of the Old Gods, commonly known as the green men." Dorak again while Arthur remained silent. "The High Priest has been expecting you?"

"Well then we mustn't keep him waiting." She spoke with a small amount of sarcasm as she climbed onto the longboat after the two priests. "I'm not an expert of the religion to the Old Gods but I wasn't aware that their were priests." She stated, while not a religious person she was curious about the green men, or priests.

"The Ironborn have the drowned men, the Andals have Septons and Septas, while the Dornish who pray to the Mother Rhoyne have their own ceremonies. Why would the First Men be any different?" Dorak asked with a amusement as he rowed the boat.

"Good point. But I have been to the North, the last kingdom to still pray to the Old Gods and yet I have never heard of any such priests." Selene pointed, causing a grimace to cover both Dorak and Arthur's faces.

"You can blame the Andals for that." Arthur spoke, his voice rough as if he wasn't used to speaking often.

"The Andals killed all traces of us South of Neck, with the exception of those who managed to flee to this island, and while the Andals failed to conquer the North, over the centuries they found ways to removing our culture and way of life from the North. Can you speak the Old Tongue?"

"I can understand and speak a bit of it but I am no expert." Selene admitted. "Is that the main language spoken on the Isle of Faces?" She asked curiously causing the two priests to nod. "So what can you tell me about this High Priest?"

Neither of the two priests answered, merely sharing looks of amusement. "You know I am basically risking my life here right? Two men I've never met are escorting me to an island infamous for its mystery." She pointed out, only half joking.

"Trust us Selene, if we wished you harm, we would not bother taking you to the God's Eye." Dorak said with clear amusement in his voice as they reached the shore of the God's Eye and Selene climbed out of the long boat, missing the silent laughter in both priests eyes.

As soon as her feet touched the ground Selene let out a gasp of shock and almost collapsed to the floor as she crossed the boundary wards on the island, feeling the intensity of their power. _'Fuck. No wonder the Andals could never conquer this island, it makes Hogwarts protections look like a shield charm cast by a first year,'_ She thought to herself. The power around the island was nothing short of exceptional.

"So you are indeed gifted." Arthur spoke with a strange emotion in his voice that she couldn't quite place.

"You would not have felt the protections had you not possessed magic." Dorak explained.

Once Selene had gotten used to the wards she turned to the priests. "Lead the way." She gestured to the two of them. She had come this far and she wasn't turning back now.

The awe that Selene felt when she followed the two priests through the forests on the island reminded her of in her last life when she had first seen Diagon Alley. The green men did not live in huts, or hovels, or grand castles but in something else entirely. The houses seemed to be built within the very trees themselves, connected each tree-house by bridges high in the air. **(Picture Lothlorien in lord of the Rings)**

The island was also very populated. Men, women and children were all within sight, some wearing the robes of the green men but most of them were wearing simple clothing. And it wasn't just people living on the island as she resisted the urge to gawk at the Children of the Forest and the giants, and even one mammoth, although she wasn't able to resist glancing. The giants weren't that awe inspiring, and while the mammoth was more impressive, it to wasn't exceptional, even if she had seen nothing like them in this life.

The Children of the Forest however were far more surprising. Physically they were the size of children, but they moved with a grace that no child, and even many adults simply didn't possess. They were beautiful in a strange way, but also dangerous as well and despite their small statue she made a mental note not to cross one of them.

"They're afraid of me." She spoke to the two priests escorting her. Well not everyone was afraid of her, the giants and the Children certainly weren't but they were definitely suspicious of her.

"Your the first visitor this island has had in many years, and we were raised to be suspicious of outsiders, fear is to be expected." Dorak stated while she nodded in understanding.

"Why cut off all contact with the outside world? I know many would denounce what is on this island as heretical, but there are some who would accept it." Selene understood why they would do such things in the past, when the Faith Militant still existed and persecuted and hunted magic, but with the religious order dead, she didn't see the need for the continued secrecy.

"When the Targaryens came we did consider it, especially when the Councilor disbanded the Faith Militant but at the time we chose to observe them first, and after the Dance when the dragons died and the Targeryens lost the knowledge of their dragon lore, and became far less tolerant, we decided it would be best to remain hidden." Dorak answered her.

She continued following the two priests until they stopped at a pathway. "From this point onward you must go on your own." Arthur said to her.

"Why?" She questioned them.

"Because he wishes to speak to you alone, and he doesn't wish for the two of you to be disturbed."

Walking forward Selene followed the path, although instincts ingrained by Jaqen constantly had her glancing for potential enemies and she fingered the knife on her belt just to remind herself that she wasn't weaponless and she had regained her strength from her apparition.

Finally Selene walked to a clearing where there was stone pillar roughly five feet in height with an elderly man standing next to it. The man was old, very old looking like he had to be the same age as Walder Frey. But despite his age there was a clear strength in the man, a powerful posture that showed someone who wielded great strength. She had no doubt that the elderly man had been a powerful warrior in his prime. She wondered who he had been, his purple eyes and silvery hair clearly showed that he was of Valyrian descent.

Was he a Targeryen? He was certainly old enough to be one, although she couldn't think of who he could be. "I am..." She began introducing herself before the man interrupted her.

"Selene of house Baratheon, daughter of Robert Baratheon and Lyanna Stark." The disdain in his voice as he spoke of her parents did give some evidence to him being a Targaryen.

"And you are?" She asked causing the man to smirk.

"I am Daemon Targaryen, consort of Queen Rhaenyra and father of Kings Aegon the Third and Viserys the Second. Rider of the dragon Caraxes." The smirk on the man's face didn't leave once as he made his less then believable introduction.

"And you expect me to believe that?" Selene said dubiously. Daemon Targaryen would be two hundred years old by this point, well beyond the lifespans of humans.

"For the reincarnated master of death, I would have thought you'd have more of an open mind." Daemon said amused at the look of shock she gave him.

"How do you know who I am?" She demanded, stepping towards the old man.

"I've traveled all over the world, learnt things you can't even imagine, and I learnt even more from the Children, who were the ones to summon you to Westeros." Daemon told her.

"What? Explain." She snapped.

"The power of the hallows lies within you, protecting you from death, the Children were able to use that power to summon your spirit from the limbo and bring you into this world." Daemon told her.

"Why?" She asked, subconsciously using occlumency to keep her emotions from overwhelming her.

"Because millennia ago those fools created a monster and they need your help to destroy it."

"The Night King." She stated as Daemon nodded. "I am not their weapon." She stated through gritted teeth as her anger spiked. She had enough manipulations in her last life, she wasn't going to be the pawn of some creatures. For years she had wondered why she was alive when she should be dead, and now she knew the truth, it was because of a bunch of meddlesome cowards who needed someone to their dirty work for them.

"You saw your vision, you know the Night King will come after you. You don't have to like them, hell the Children saved my life after my battle with my loathsome nephew and they are the one of the reasons I've lived as long as I have and I still don't like them, but the White Walkers are a threat to us all." Daemon stated. "You've felt the protections around the island. It's starting to weaken, as are the protections of the Wall, as the Night Kings power grows, the strength of the Children fade."

"And how do I know you didn't plant that vision in my head to manipulate me?"

"Believe what you want but that vision was a true glimpse of the future. The Children thought you would be able to defeat the White Walkers on your own but that vision showed them that unless you have help then you won't. Which is why I've been trying to summon you to this island. Come over here." Daemon said and Selene slowly walked to the stone pillar, her distrust clear with every step.

Built within it was a bowl with runes on the outskirts, and filled with a swirling liquid that reminded her of a pensieve. "What will I see?" She asked.

"I don't know." Daemon confessed. "Everyone sees something different."

With a deep breath Selene plunged her head into the water.

 _Selene recognised where she was the second she saw it. It was Hogwarts in the aftermath of Voldemort attack. She saw the old bastard himself leading an army of Death Eaters while Hagrid carried her body. She saw Voldemort offering the defenders a chance to join, yelling a few curses when she saw Malfoy bastard join the dark lord even though she had saved his life. She watched with pride as Neville drew Gryffindors sword from the sorting hat and lead the people against an attack on the surprised Death Eaters with Neville decapitating Nagini, ridding Voldemort of the last of his horcruxes._

 _Selene watched as Molly Weasley killed Belatrix Lestrange, and watched with pride as she saw Hagrid grab Voldemort from behind while he was distracted fighting Professor McGonagall and Aberforth Dumbledore and snap the man's neck._

 _Selene felt relief and closure and knowing that her sacrifice hadn't been in vain, that Voldemort had died._

 _The next seen was completely different and she couldn't recognise the landscape, but what she did recognise were the White Walkers moving across the land, killing anything in their path. She saw armies of men and Children fight valiantly but in futile attempts against them. Selene watched as they created ships of pure ice and sailed across the Narrow Sea into Essos._

 _Next she was in a forge, watching a smith hammer steel. He placed the steel in water, causing it to break. With a second blade she saw the man plunge it into a lions heart, causing it to shatter, and the third time she saw him plunge the blade into his wife's heart. Rather then shatter, the blade glowed with white light, imbued by the magic of a willing sacrifice. Magic Selene was very much familiar with._

 _She watched the man, Azor Ahai, and his two sons, Brandon and Durran lead a war against the Walkers, driving them from Essos. She saw the family sail to Westeros, to what is now Storm's End, surviving against all odd the storms of Shipbreaker's Bay. They met with Garth Greenhand, leader of the resistance of humans and Children in Westeros and watched as the four of them fought the White Walkers._

 _She saw Azor Ahai drive off the Night King on the God's Eye, but was wounded in the process, dying moments later._

 _She watched as Brandon the Builder, Durran Godsgrief and Garth Greenhand drive the Walkers into the lands of always winter and build the Wall with the help of the Children and the giants._

 _The next vision was of Aegon's Conquest. Selene saw the burning of Harrenhal, the Last Storm and the Field of Fire. She witnessed Torrhen Stark bending the knee to Aegon the Conquerer and laying the ancient crown of the Kings of Winter at his feet._

 _The next thing Selene saw was the tournament of Harrenhall, the battle of the Trident and finally the Tower of Joy._

Selene collapsed to the floor in shock, tears streaming down her face.

"What did you see?" Daemon asked curiously.

"More like what didn't I see." Selene snapped as she struggled to comprehend what she had seen. She wanted to deny it, to call what she had seen fake but she knew deep down that it was the truth. "I saw my mother plunge all of Westeros into war because of her selfishness, killing hundreds of thousands of people including her own father and brother." She muttered out loud though more to herself then Daemon.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked Daemon, getting to the point.

"Come with me." Daemon spoke leaving the clearing, not waiting to even check if she was following. For an old man Daemon truly did move at an impressive speed. Selene followed the man, her mind on what she had seen. It had always been rumoured that her mother had willingly went with Rhaegar Targaryen but Selene hadn't believed the rumours, especially since most of the rumours stemmed from houses that had fought for the Targaryens.

 _'Why? Did you really hate my father so much that you felt you had no choice but to run off with another man?'_ Selene questioned as she walked. And what did her mother really think of her, did Lyanna love her as her daughter, or did she simply see Selene as the daughter of the man she hated.

"How have you managed to live for so long?" Selene asked in order to distract herself from what she had seen.

"The magic the Children used to save me, combined with the ambient magic of the Isle of Faces has slowed down the aging process. As you can see I am no way immortal." He said gesturing to his old and withered form. "But I have lived far longer then I ever thought possible."

"But why stay on this island. You are regarded as one of the most respected Targaryens to ever live, why stay on the God's Eye when you could have made a difference." It was that that confused Selene, why did Daemon stay on this island doing nothing?

"It took me decades to recover from my wounds, by that point I was long believed to have died by the rest of my family and the world had moved on, and I no longer had a place in it. Many times I thought about leaving, wondering if I could have changed things, but in the end I would have changed nothing. My grandson's failure at conquering Dorne, the Blackfyre rebellions and your own father's rebellion, I wouldn't have been able to stop any of those events, so I stayed." Daemon answered.

After that the two of them walked in silence, until they reached another clearing with a large stone table. At the centre of the table was a weapon, a longsword to be exact, a milky white blade she had seen in her visions, even if it no longer glowed with power. "Lightbringer." Selene stated, recognising the blade from the visions she had seen. "Why didn't the Children or the Last Hero's suns use it to kill the Kill the Night King?"

"Because they were unable to Master of Death." Turning around she saw a Child of the Forest.

"Who are you?" She asked, her patience nearing its end.

"You humans are always so obsessed with names." The Child spoke with a certain amount of amusement in its, her voice. "But you can call me Lief."

"Were you one of the ones that summoned me here?" She wasn't referring to the God's Eye and Lief knew that as well.

"I was one of those who helped resurrect you." The Child answered.

"Why?"

"Would you have preferred an eternity within limbo, unable to move on into the afterlife, but unable to return to the world because you hadn't properly mastered your powers?" Lief asked her, confusing her slightly. Daemon had mentioned that she'd been stuck in limbo before the Children had summoned her, but did that mean that she wasn't means to be stuck there. And what did she mean about her powers.

"You seem to know a lot about about the hallows." She said to Lief suspiciously causing Daemon to snort.

"Do you really think you're the only person to unite the hallows and become the Master of Death?" Daemon asked almost condescendingly. Selene flushed a little bit. She had actually thought that she had been the only person to possess all three hallows, even if she'd never actually had the chance to use the Elder Wands she had still been its master, not that it stopped the wand from killing her.

"Look at the blade." Lief instructed. It was at the top of the pommel, a tiny little thing that looked more like a scratch then anything, but it was clear. The sign of the Deathly Hallows.

"So the Last Hero was the Master of Death." She stated, more to herself then the two people with her. Had Azor Ahai been reincarnated like she had been, or did the Hallows also exist in this world as well? It would explain how Jaqen not only recognised the mark of the Hallows on her but how Rhaegar had possessed Valyrian texts with information of the Hallows.

"Indeed he was." Lief answered.

"But what does being the Master of Death even mean?" Selene snapped.

"The staff of destruction, the stone to summon the spirits of all who walked before us, and cloak to allow one to move unseen." Lief began explaining. "Fools believe that these artifacts will grant them true immortality along with power akin to that of gods. But we all know that's false. They grant great power yes, but come at a terrible cost. Being the Master of Death means you cannot find peace in death, you are trapped to spend an eternity within limbo, unable to move on, 'to you next great adventure.'" Lief spoke, using one Dumbledore's favourite quotes, causing her eyes to twitch slightly.

"Azor Ahai united the hallows, and with their powers, combined with the sacrifice of his wife he forged Lightbringer, a blade to rid the world of the demons plaguing it. He defeated the Night King, but was slain before he could kill him."

"I saw all this. His sons created the Wall and trapped the White Walkers in the lands of Always Winter, it doesn't explain what you want with me? Or why you simply didn't resurrect Azor Ahai if those who unite the Hallows are trapped in limbo." Selene snapped, her temper rising. She didn't want to be dead, and she was glad to be alive, but she had no desire to be their puppet.

"The Night King is a master necromancer, we can't resurrect the Last Hero because the Night King has already banished him into the abyss. And at the time it didn't concern us, he was trapped beyond the Wall, but his power is growing and the protections keeping him bound are failing. Only Lightbringer can destroy the Night King, Valyrian steel and dragonglass at best injure him, and only the Master of Death can wield Lightbringer. And we found the spirit of another who had mastered the hallows and we summoned your spirit, resurrecting you."

"Do you have no respect for the dead." Selene said to Lief.

"We did what needed to be done to defeat the Night King." Lief spoke, not apologising for her actions.

"It's called responsibility, you created the Night King, it should be you who deal with him, not placing the responsibility on someone else."

"You saw the vision, you know he'll come for you." Lief argued.

"Only because of you." Selene snapped.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't change the fact that he'll never stop hunting you, you will never have peace, not until you kill him." Lief answered back. "Hate me and my brethren all you want it won't change the facts."

Selene turned away from the _thing_ in front of her in disgust. Slowly she walked towards Lightbringer and clasped her hand around the pommel.

Immediately Selene gasped as power filled her, power unlike anything she could imagine as Lightbringer glowed with magic for the first time in eight thousand years, recognising the power of its master.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene sat at her desk, Lightbringer on her desk within its sheath. Her mind had a lot to process with everything she had learnt on the Isle of Faces, about the Night King, about being the Master of Death, about her mother, and her _brother_. It was hard to believe that Jon was her brother. Although in a way it did make sense, her uncle had always been so secretive of who is mother was, and now Selene knew why.

She could understand her uncle's actions, and also his hesitation in allowing Jon to come to the capital, a Targaryen bastard would not have been save in the capital. It also explained Oberyn Martell's interest in Jon, she had no doubt that he and his brother Doran were aware of Jon's parentage.

She hadn't spoken to Jon since she'd apparated from the Isle of Faces back to the capital, or even her father for that matter. She couldn't avoid them, although she was unsure if she should tell either of them the truth, more Jon then her father. Did she wait for her uncle to tell Jon the truth about his parentage, or should she do it herself.

"Enter." She called out when she heard a knocking on the door, and her father walked inside. The last few months had certainly been good for her father, physically at least, emotionally it had been very hectic for the man but he was in a better shape then he had been since the Greyjoy rebellion where in the aftermath he had truly started to let himself go physically. "Father." She said standing from her desk.

"Selene." He greeted as he pulled her in a hug. "So how are feeling?" He asked nervously. His daughter was skilled fighter, a very skilled fighter in fact but Clegane was a beast. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid about what could possibly happen, he was absolutely terrified.

"Confident." She spoke smiling. After everything that had happened on the Isle, fighting Clegane honestly couldn't compare to taking priority. Finding out that she was meant to fight an ancient magical being thanks to the Children was enraging, and worrying. She remembered the vision of her future self fighting the Night King, and she had been defeated with ease. "I can promise you father, that I will not be dying at the hands of Gregor Clegane." She promised him.

Robert gave his daughter a strained smile. "I have something for you." He said as he handed her a dagger, watching her eyes widen with surprise at the sight of the blade.

"This is Valyrian steel." She spoke with wonder. Granted it couldn't quite compare to Lightbringer but it was still an exceptionally rare, and magical blade.

"And the knuckles bones of a dragon that make the hilt." Robert replied proudly.

"When did you get this?" Selene asked. She was fairly sure that she would have known if her father had a Valyrian steel blade in his possession.

"Won it off Littlefinger in a bet not long ago." He answered with triumph. Littlefinger had certainly not that ever so arrogant smirk of his when he lost his dagger. Granted a dagger wasn't in the same league as a sword but it was still Valyrian steel.

"Thank you."

"You remind me of your mother." Immediately Selene fought the urge to let her smile turn into a grimace. That was not the compliment that her father thought it was. "She was determined, fearless and fought for what she believed. And I'm proud of how much I see her in you. But I am glad that I don't see all of her in you." He added to her confusion.

"What do mean?" She asked causing her father to sigh.

"Lyanna, wasn't perfect." Robert admitted after a few moments. "She had her faults just as everyone else. She could be arrogant, spoilt even, and often acted before thinking which often landed her into trouble. I loved her more then anything, but she wasn't perfect, had no desire to be a lady, though that was one of things that I loved about her in the first place. What I'm saying is that while I'm glad you have her best qualities, I'm also glad that you don't take completely after her." Robert admitted.

"Thank you father." She spoke pulling him into a hug, all the while resolving to keep what she knew about her mlother a secret, better to leave her memory rest in peace.

 **\- Line Break -**

Selene took a deep breath as she put her armour on. It was happening, she was fighting the Mountain and would be doing so in a matter of minutes. She wasn't scared, nervous perhaps but not scared. She did not fear the likes of Gregor Clegane.

Selene strapped the knife her father had given her to her waist and did the same with her sword, feeling the same rush of magic that she always did when she it, a bit like when she first got her wand in her last life. She wasn't sure what Lightbringer actually did, besides glow when she was holding it, and it would be ridiculous to try casting spells with it.

"Are you ready?" Brienne asked her, standing in the corner of the room.

"I am." She answered on the two of them walked to the training grounds where the fight was to take place. The two of them walked in silence, neither of them really being able to bring up a conversation knowing what was about to happen.

"Good luck." Brienne said when they neared arena.

"I don't luck Brienne." She spoke, flashing her friend a smile though it did little to help with the older woman's nerves.

Selene's eyes immediately landed on the Mountain, looking directly at him she paid no mind to the spectates, only moving her gaze when the new Grandmaester, an odd man named Marwyn who she had yet to have the opportunity to properly interact with, walked in between the two of them. "In the sight of gods and men, we are here to ascertain who the rightful heir to the Iron Throne is. Do the the combatants wish to speak any last words?" Selene looked towards her family, her father, along with Tommen and Myrcella all looked terrified. Cersei, the bitch honestly looked aroused by what was happening, but her gaze was for her brother Joffrey. Selene resisted the urge to smirk when the sadistic grin on his face was faded and replaced by a look of worry.

"At least I have the courage to face my enemies, can you say the same my darling brother?" This time Selene didn't bother to fight the urge to grin as flushed with embarrassment and the nobles all started whispering among themselves.

"Begin." Immediately Selene drew Lightbringer from its scabbard, it's white glow imediatly filling the area around it, causing a hushed gasp to fall among the crowd before hushed whispers starting emerging.

"Ser Gregor, are you just going to stand their like a dumb ox are we going to fight." Whether it was her words, the laughter from the Dornish Prince that followed she didn't know but the Mountain let out a bellow of range and charged at her with a speed that was honestly shocking.

Ducking under the blade, Selene launched her own attack which the Mountain raised his own blade to block.

With that the fight began. Selene danced around the Mountain, staying close enough to attack the man but not to close that she was unable to dodge his attacks. This unfortunately limited the effectiveness of her attacks, but still every little helped.

"Come on dog, is that really the best you can do?" She asked as she dodged yet another attack, causing the Mountain to scream in rage and frustration, charging at her

Selene dropped to her knees to avoid being decapitated, providing her with the perfect opportunity. While Clegane raised his great sword above his head to cut her in half, Selene withdrew the knife her father had given her from its scabbard and with all her strength rammed it between Gregor Clegane's legs.

The Mountain let out a scream of pure pain, which only intensified when she removed the dagger as painfully as possible. "After all the women you have raped I can think of a no better fate." She spoke loudly so that everyone heard and the implication wasn't lost on anyone. Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides and one of the most feared men in Westeros was no a eunuch.

And though no one realised it, in that moment Clegane's fate was sealed. In preparation for the fight Selene had coated her dagger with poison, it was simply a matter of time before he died.

"YOU BITCH." Clegane bellowed as he charged at her, swinging his great sword with one hand like a mad man. It was honestly all Selene could do to stay out of his reach, especially as she was slowly losing ground to the Mountain, causing her to silently pray for the poison to act faster.

With no chance to dodge Selene swung Lightbringer at the Mountain, their swords connecting and the next event baffled everyone, including her. The Mountain's great sword completely shattered into a thousand different pieces.

Both she and Clegane stared at the remains of his sword in shock, unfortunately for her the Mountain recovered from his shock first, and kicked her in the chest. The intensity of the kick sent her flying, easily five whole meters backwards as she landed painfully on the floor, Lightbringer slipping from her grasp.

Selene groaned painfully, her chest in complete agony and she had no doubt that she had more then a few broken ribs.

Then Selene felt fear, fear greater then anything she had ever felt as the Mountain climbed on top of her, his weight feeling like it was crushing her as he wrapped his hands around her throat and began choking the life out of her.

Selene did the only thing she could have done, used her magic as she said the words, barely a whisper with the way the Mountain was choking the life out of her. "Avada Kedavra." With the way the Mountain's body was completely covering hers no one noticed the small green flash as the Mountain collapsed dead on top of her.

 **End of chapter 11. Please review.**

 **Trying to introduce more magic in this story after a review made a very good point that Selene was more of an OC rather then femHP so I've decided to include more magic in this story, but I am only saying this once. Magic is not invincible or infallible, it won't be an easy fix and able to solve every single problem that turns up so I would appreciate no reviews bitching about the problems Selene will face, saying that since she has magic then she should be able to solve it.**

 **Also I don't think the Children have ever been the reason for reincarnation in a HP/GOT crossover which is why I used them, a far different reason then death, or the vail being responsible.**

 **Also hope everyone enjoyed Selene vs Clegane, I'm not the best at writing fight scenes so hope you all liked it.**


	12. Poll

**I'm putting a poll up because I'm struggling to decide who to pair Selene with. I had initially planned to pair her with Aegon Targeryen, but now I'm not so sure. I do still like that idea, but now I've got so many different ideas that I can't actually decide anymore, so I'm leaving it up to you, my readers.**

 **Selene/Aegon Targaryen**

 **Selene/Oberyn Martell**

 **Selene/Jaime Lannister**

 **Selene/Jon Snow**

 **Selene/Robb Stark**

 **Selene/Daenerys Targaryen**

 **Selene/Yara Greyjoy**

 **Selene/Myrcella (Honestly this one I'm no really sure about this one but a surprising number of people have suggested it so there you go)**

 **Also this will be a blind poll.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Mage of the Storm chapter 11**

Silence filled the area as everyone watched. Not a sound before Selene started pushing the Mountain's corpse off her, pain filling her chest as she did so. Seeing her friend alive, and struggling to push the corpse off her Brienne stepped forward and with one massive push, the dead body of Gregor Clegane was pushed to the side.

"You are the luckiest bitch in the world." Brienne spoke with relief as Selene stood up, causing cheers to explode throughout the area.

"Not luck just skill." Selene answered with a spoke but winced immediately after as pain flared in her throat from where the Mountain had been strangling her.

"YOU BITCH." A screaming voice bellowed out, silencing the cheers as everyone turned towards Joffrey Baratheon who was trembling with rage, spit coming out of his mouth and a look of pure cruelty in his eyes. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING WHORE, I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF."

More then a few lords were looking at Joffrey with no small amount of horror and alarm. Several of the older nobles and members of the court were even making comparisons in their heads to the previous king who sat on the Iron Throne, and the comparison was not winning Joffrey any support.

Not willing to deny the opportunity that Joffrey had just presented to her on a silver platter Selene looked towards the gathered nobles. Jon Arryn, Yohn Royce, Anya Waynwood and Lyonel Corbray, all representing the Vale, were all looking at Joffrey in disgust. Edmure Tully was looking at Joffrey like he was a rotten fish he was forced to eat, and the other Riverlords all bared similar expressions. Oberyn Martell was openly sneering at her half-brother, with similar looks being sent his way from the Red Viper's daughters, paramour as well as his nephew and niece. But the biggest surprise was that even lords from the Westerlands, with Lord Leo Lefford, easily one of the richest and most powerful lords answering to Casterly Rock was looking at Joffrey as one would a pile shit.

Her father on the other, looked like he was seconds away from ripping Joffrey's head from his shoulders.

"Is this really the king you want sitting on the Iron Throne?" Selene questioned the nobles of Westeros from Dorne all the way to the Twins, bringing their attention back to her, ignoring the pain in her throat as she spoke. "A boy who would condemn his own family to death yet is to cowardly to even attempt the deed himself, relying on others." She spoke gesturing at Clegane's corpse. "I know what some speak of me. How I'm stealing my brother's birth right, how I'm another Rhaenyra Targaryen.

"And yet let me ask you all, have I done anything to prove I'm not worthy of the Iron Throne? Have I done anything to prove that I am as cruel as Maegor was, as insane as Aerys was or as unworthy as Aegon was? There has been no shortage of those who were unworthy to sit the Iron Throne. So I ask you all, who would you truly rather sitting on the Iron Throne?"

There was complete silence as the audience all looked at one another in contemplation, many questioning themselves about who the rightful heir to the Iron Throne was. In the eyes of many the princess was certainly looking the better option, she had the very least had possessed the courage to fight for her own claim, rather than relying on others like the Lannister prince had done.

Cersei was ready to scream in frustration, on the verge of ordering her brother to cut down the Stark whore where she stood, but a glare from her father was enough to keep her mouth shut.

 **Line Break**

A broken rib. At least it was only one Selene thought to herself and considering how she was alive she would gladly accept a broken rib. She didn't fear death, it was hard to fear it when she had already died once but it didn't change the fact that when the Mountain had been on top of her, strangling the life out of her, she had been terrified.

Selene resisted the urge to rub her throat, still feeling painful and raw from Clegane's hands wrapped around it. She did not have a mirror on her, but she had no doubt that it was badly bruised.

"You are very lucky princess." The new Grandmaester Marwyn stated. "You only have one broken rib, which could take to up to six weeks to heal."

' _Not quite that long,'_ Selene thought to herself. Her magic would speed up the healing process, though it would still take a good few weeks to fully heal, and she wasn't going to even attempt to try to heal the broken bone. Healing spells had never been her specialty and she wasn't going to attempt such a complex spell on her rib, she'd be more likely to puncture a lung then mend the broken bone.

"And milk of the poppy to ease your pain." Marwyn continued handing her some.

"Thank you." She replied, almost immediately regretting it as pain flared in her throat.

"As for your throat, that's just something that will have to heal naturally, although the poppy should help with that as well." Marwyn stated. "And for the record princess I am pleased that you won the fight." Marwyn added as he then left her on her own.

Selene remained sitting even after the Grandmaester had left. Physically, she wasn't that bad, a broken bone and a sore throat was far from the worst pain she had experienced, magically however she felt both exhausted and even sick. There was a reason that the killing curse was considered an unforgivable, it was one of the darkest spells ever created.

Selene wasn't above using the dark arts, she'd always considered herself more of a grey witch then a light one but casting one of the darkest spells in existence had a very negative effect, and it made her feel like she was going to throw up.

Many who used the dark arts liked to claim that the killing curse was merciful and could be used to put people out of their misery, but that wasn't the reality. To successfully cast the curse, you needed to truly hate, or fear the person you were using it on. Selene hated the Mountain, and in that moment, she had been terrified so powering the spell hadn't been a problem. Although it should have been. Selene had always been powerful, in her last life she had easily been on the same level as Voldemort and Dumbledore in terms of raw power, even if she was not even close to possessing the same knowledge and skill that the two older wizards had. But still, casting a summoning spell wandlessly and casting the Killing curse were two very different things and Selene _should_ not have been able to cast such a dark and powerful spell without a wand.

Ignoring the pain in her chest Selene stood up and walked over to her desk where Lightbringer lay across. She honestly didn't know much about the sword; the Children had been very tightlipped and unhelpful about it. Hell they hadn't even fucking bothered telling her that it was strong enough to actually shatter steel, a little warning would have been nice so that she wasn't taken by surprise and very nearly killed by the Mountain.

The sword had to be the reason that she was able to cast the killing curse without a wand, it was the only explanation. When she had first held the sword, it had reminded her of when she had first gotten her wand from Ollivanders, her magic had felt, active, almost as if it yearned to be used. It still felt like that now, and while Selene didn't necessarily feel any more powerful, she certainly suspected that calling upon her magic would be easier, as long as Lightbringer was in her possession.

Lightbringer had been forged using the Hallows, imbued with their power, that much Selene knew. Though she didn't know the exact spell work the Last Hero had used on Lightbringer, she knew it was forged by the Hallows and could only be used by someone who had mastered them. This obviously meant that the Hallows were somewhere in Westeros or Essos, the question was where? An entire world without the faintest idea where they could be, it truly was a needle in a haystack situation.

She would also need to learn more about Lightbringer itself. The blade was one of the biggest myths and legends in both Westerosi and Essosi legends and had been on the God's Eye for thousands of years. There was also the issue that despite what the Children claimed there were legends of Lightbringer post the Long Night, of it being wielded in battle, most prominently by the River King Tristifer Mudd during the Andal Invasion. It was even rumoured that Lightbringer was what allowed him to win 99 battles before falling on his hundredth. After that there was no record of Lightbringer ever being seen again but presumably it ended up on the God's Eye where it remained until Selene collected it.

This contradicted what the Children had told her about how only the Master of Death could wield Lightbringer, but Selene had a theory about that. That anyone could use Lightbringer, but only someone who had mastered the Hallows could wield the weapon to its full extent. The magic within the sword was nothing short of phenomenal but the big question was whether it simply acted as a focus for her own magic, or had its own abilities, Selene wasn't aware of.

She needed to know more about her sword, but unfortunately Selene had no idea where she could possibly get that information from. The ancient texts she had with her from both Storm's End and Winterfell had little to no information on Lightbringer, strange since Brandon the Builder and Durran Godsgrief were the sons of Azor Ahai but considering the weapon hadn't been seen since the Andal Invasion it wasn't too surprising.

Perhaps the Maesters of the Citadel would have more information but there was a problem with that. Selene had few allies in the Reach and even fewer in Oldtown. And considering how she had banished Pycelle from the court and sent him on his way to the citadel she was unlikely to find any allies soon.

Maybe she should ask the new Grand Maester and see if he was as knowledgeable on the mystical arts as he was rumoured to be.

A banging on the door disturbed Selene from her musings. Her father had ordered for her to be left in peace while she was being seen by Marwyn and while she recovered. If it was her father then he wouldn't bother knocking, nor if it was any of the Lannisters. "Enter. Prince Oberyn." Selene greeted the Dornish Prince as she placed Lightbringer back onto the table.

"Princess Selene." The way he was speaking to her was different from before. While before Oberyn had always been polite there had also been an edge in the way he had interacted with her, knowing what she did about her mother she guessed he knew just how willing Lyanna Stark had been in the disgrace of his sister. Now however there was no small amount of respect and gratitude in the way he was addressing her.

"I just want to say thank you princess, I know you didn't kill him for Elia but…"

"What happened to your sister was a disgrace, and Clegane should have been executed for it years ago." Selene told Oberyn bitterly, causing the Red Viper to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"You had your own reasons for wanting Clegane dead. Didn't you?" It was more of a statement then a question, but Selene nodded anyway. "If you don't mind me asking but why?"

Selene was silent for a moment, wondering whether she should answer or not. But he wasn't wrong, Selene had always had personal reasons for wanting Gregor Clegane dead. "Growing up I didn't really have many friends. My father didn't like any of the children from the nobles in the Crownlands being near me and Cersei always insured that those from the Westerlands didn't interact with me either. The only friend I really had was the daughter of one of servants, Lara." She spoke quietly as she remembered her long dead childhood friend, blinking away a few tears as she did so.

"Cersei," The amount of hatred that was used when speaking of her step mother was almost enough to make Oberyn flinch. "Has always hated my presence at court. I was a reminder of the woman that my father loved and she always hated me for it and did what she could to keep me isolated and alone. When she learned I was friends with one of the servants daughter's I know that she wasn't happy. The next time Clegane was in the capital, Lara and her parents were brutally murdered." Selene finished angrily, hands clenching as she stared at the Dornishman.

"Didn't your father do anything?" Oberyn asked, taken back by the actions used by the Lannister queen. He knew from experience just how spiteful Cersei Lannister was, but could she truly butcher a family just to hurt a child? From the daughter of Tywin Lannister, he didn't doubt it. But while Robert Baratheon was willing to let Elia's murder slide, surely, he would stand against the murder of those who were close to his daughter.

Selene snorted in response. "My father is gullible, the second it was said that the servants had been killed by a couple of outlaws from Flee Bottom he let the matter slide and Jon Arryn has always been willing to let matters slide if it means keeping the peace. 'For the greater good'." She muttered hatefully.

"And when I tried objecting the lion bitch then threatened me. She said, and I quote 'You should be mindful of your place Stark bitch, Ser Gregor has gotten away with killing princesses before, he can get away with it again.'" Selene spoke furiously. Lara had been seven years old, and her parents had done nothing yet still Cersei had them butchered, and had then proceeded to threaten her. What Cersei had done had been a warning to her, her father may be able to protect her, but he wasn't able to protect those closest to her. What had happened to her friend was actually one of the main reasons that she had accepted Jaqen's offer of training in the first place. So that Cersei could never hurt anyone close to her again.

Oberyn was growling by the time Selene finished, his hatred for house Lannister actually managing to reach new levels. It seemed there truly was no boundaries that the so called lions of the Rock wouldn't cross and that Tywin's children were as twisted as their father. "I'm sorry about your friend princess." He spoke honestly.

"And I'm sorry about your sister, nephew and niece." She replied with the same honesty.

"I just wanted to let you know that house Nymeros Martell owes you a debt and I promise you princess that should even desire something from us, we will gladly pay it." Oberyn vowed the princess. Doran probably wouldn't like him making such a promise but after killing Clegane their family owed the princess a debt.

 **Line Break**

There were times, not many but a few where Tyrion genuinely enjoyed the company of his family. This was one such time. Watching his sister rage at everything and everyone, bar him for a nice change, was certainly amusing. She had yelled at their father (until he gave her one of his infamous glares), yelled at Jaime, and even yelled at her own monster of a son, though he really wasn't sure what she was saying at this point.

"And what do you find so funny?" Well it seemed his moments of enjoyment wouldn't last; his sister had finally turned her attention to him.

"I find it amusing that despite all your efforts the princess still comes out on top. Perhaps it's a sign that she meant to be queen." Jaime snorted at his words but their glares he got from his father, sister and nephew showed that none of them shared his opinion. Not that he expected it.

"That whore has stolen my son's throne."

' _Your bastard has no right to the throne,'_ Tyrion thought to himself. Of course, he didn't say those words, nothing good would come of it and either Tywin or Cersei would kill him in retaliation.

"And what is being done about my throne?" The demand came from his repulsive nephew who seemed to develop a permanent scowl, probably to imitate his grandfather. There was a big difference though, Tywin was imposing and commanded fear and respect in others, Joffrey however looked like he was constipated.

"Preparations are being made." Tywin stated and Tyrion couldn't but fear what his father could possibly be planning. Tyrion had no idea what those plans were, but he had no doubt that it would be nothing good.

The response however did not satisfy Joffrey who glared at Tywin in response. "You said that before and look what happened. Your best soldier is dead, and thanks to your weakness we are the laughing stock of the kingdoms. If you were half the man that my father was you would have marshalled your army to put me on the throne, instead of plotting like a COWARD." Joffrey screamed in retaliation.

Both Cersei and Jaime were looking at Joffrey in shock and horror, as well as glancing fearfully at their father. Tywin's face was as unreadable as ever and Tyrion was fighting the urge to laugh. _'And people call my nephew a coward,'_ Tyrion thought with amusement. It took guts, or suicidal tendencies to speak like that to Tywin Lannister.

Joffrey who had a moment ago looked so confident and defiant was now staring at the floor in unease, barely able to look his ruthless grandfather in eyes for more than a few moments before the coward realised just how out of his depth that he was. "The prince is tired, perhaps you should take him his to his chambers." It was spoken to Cersei like a request but none of the Lannisters mistook it for anything but the order that it was. Not a moment later Cersei was leading the protesting Joffrey to his bedroom.

"You just sent the prince of Westeros to bed without his supper." Tyrion spoke with no small amount of amusement causing his father to glare at him.

"Despite his words, Joffrey does have a point." It may be Jaime speaking but it was Cersei's words, there sister always had a unique way of controlling him even when she wasn't present. "What are we going to do?"

Tyrion knew that his brother didn't really care about who sat on the Iron Throne, he didn't have an ambitious bone in his body. His sole ambition was to please their sister and it was only for Cersei's sake that Jaime was even asking. Of the three of them Jaime was the only one who could possibly receive any kind of answer from their father.

He wondered if Jaime would ever take his head out of his ass, or out of Cersei's cunt long enough to realise what kind of a foul monster that she was. It was sufficient to say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree in regard to her and Joffrey.

"Right now, there is nothing that we can do. Selene," Despite the hatred in his voice Tyrion could swear that he heard a small twinge of respect as well. "Has the advantage, if we move against her now then it would not be hard for her to rally the realm against us."

"You mean to undermine her position in the long run." Tyrion stated causing his father to nod in response.

"Within the next week we will return to Casterly Rock and for the time being we will make no further move against the princess."

"Cersei will not like that." Jaime stated, failing to see the point that their father didn't care.

"Cersei and her son will have to accept it and that's final." Tywin growled out in response.

 **Line Break**

Tywin glanced at the corpse of what was once one of his best soldiers in annoyance as his personal maester examined the corpse. "Are you certain?"

"Without a doubt my lord." The maester replied without a moment of hesitation. "There is poison in his system and since there was no chance for one of the Martells, or anyone else to have the opportunity to poison him, that only leaves…"

"The princess. She coated her blade in poison." He finished for the maester. It seemed it wasn't only the Martells he had to worry about poisoning him, there was also a strong risk of Selene Baratheon attempting to poison him as well. Well at least he now knew of that skill that the princess possessed. It also meant that trying to poison her would be pointless, she was bound to be prepared for such events.

Tywin had to admit that events were not going as planned, and that he had underestimated Selene Baratheon. He had not thought for a second that she would be able to beat Clegane, granted she had only done so barely, from what he could tell the poison she had used had only just managed to kill Clegane before he managed to kill her.

Tywin was not a person who was going to let his legacy slip through his fingers just because the drunkard fool of a king decided to be sentimental to his first wife, a wife who Tywin distinctly remembered holding her husband in nothing but disdain, who had also been dead for over fifteen years.

Since attempting to remove Selene's claim to the throne through legal means had accomplished nothing, that only left the less then legal methods. Poison wasn't an option anymore but hiring someone to slit her throat was certainly one and even if she managed to survive that long, then there was always the final option.

War.

In the end it was the victor who wrote history. If his family emerged on top, then no one would care that Robert Baratheon had named his daughter as his successor rather then his son. Just like how history viewed Aegon II as the rightful monarch today rather than his half-sister Rhaenyra.

But that wasn't to say that such a thing would be easy. The princess had no lack of supporters, and both her uncles, Stannis Baratheon and Eddard Stark were experienced battle commanders who were more than likely to support her in times of war. And thanks to her killing Clegane she could very well gain the support of the Martells as well.

But just because the princess had supporters didn't change the fact that she had enemies as well. Enemies which would serve him greatly.

 **Line Break**

Sandor Clegane was drowning himself in wine in one of the countless taverns that littered the capital. He was angry, scratch that he was absolutely enraged. Gregor had been his to kill, he was to be the one to kill his brother and now that couldn't happen. He couldn't get vengeance for his murdered mother and sister. Or even his burnt face. All because that blasted princess had gone and killed him before he had a chance to.

Granted he certainly hadn't expected her to be able to kill his brother, no one had. The running bets throughout the shadier parts of the capital had largely bet on the princess being slaughtered, and the few who had bet on the princess were now a good deal richer.

Truthfully Sandor wasn't sure about what to do anymore. His life goal had been to see his brother dead, and now his brother was dead. Technically he was now Knight of Clegane Keep but he truthfully had no desire to rule that shit hole of a keep where most of bis family had been killed. Nor did he want to be closer to the Lannisters domain of power, he had to put up with enough of those yellow haired shits in the capital, there were however hundreds of those snot nosed brats in the Westerlands, with every one of them thinking themselves superior just because they were popped out of the right cunt.

No Sandor was no knight ruling some castle, nor did he even want to be. He was killer, simply put, it was what he was and in truth all he needed to be. Though perhaps it was time to find a new employer though, the little shit and his bitch of a mother had been even more unbearable these last few days then even Sandor could have possibly predicted. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd be executed for it, he would have already killed the two of them.

"Maybe the princess wants a guard dog," He muttered drunkenly to himself. "It would certainly piss that little shit off."

 **Line Break**

For twenty years Thoros of Myr, Red Priest of R'hllor had been living in Westeros. During that time, it was safe to say that Thoros had lost faith in the Lord of Light, in all religions for that matter, living in the corrupt cesspool that was King's Landing certainly had away of breaking your faith in gods. It had started with watching the Mad King burn people alive with wildfire, as someone who was part of a religion whose more radical members believed in burning non-believers this shouldn't have been much to him.

But there was a difference between watching some people who were truly guilty of crimes being burned alive by his fellow priests, and watching a mad man burn people alive because the psychopath got off it. Truthfully burning people alive was actually something only done in the rarest of circumstances among Red Priests, despite what those so called pious Septons liked to claim, though some of the more radical members of his order did believe that all non-believers should be burnt alive. That old bint Melisandre came to mind. But watching Aerys burn people alive simply because he enjoyed it had slowly but surely destroyed his faith in the fire-based religion. Until now that was.

Before being sent to Westeros to convert the pyromaniac that was Aerys Targaryen to the Lord of Light, Thoros had been something of a messenger, travelling from one Red Temple to another throughout the Free Cities. In fact, he had probably been to nearly every Red Temple that existed in Essos, or at least existed twenty years ago, more were bound to have been built since then. And in Volantis, home to the largest Red Temple in Essos there were tapestries, ancient one's going back thousands of years, preserved though means that Thoros could only speculate of.

One of those tapestries was of Azor Ahai wielding Lightbringer, the sword that the princess now wielded. There was no doubt about the sword that the Storm Princess wielded, it was identical to the one in the tapestry.

Thoros sat before a fire in his home, trying to do something that he hadn't attempted to do for years. He was far from the most gifted scryer and the fact he hadn't even tried such a thing in years certainly wouldn't help, but he had to try.

Muttering a prayer to R'hllor Thoros stared deeply into the fire, praying for his God to show him what he needed to see. After staring intently at the fire with no change for nearly ten minutes he was ready to give up.

Just as he was about to stand up and leave, he saw something. At first it was simply a glimmer, but as he stared intently at it, shapes and images formed within the fire. Thoros started breathing heavily and sweat began to pour down his face as images passed before his eyes.

By the time the vision ended he was panting heavily and shivering despite being right next to the fire. Thoros knew what he needed to do, he needed to contact to the High Priest of R'hllor, immediately.

 **Line Break**

"You know considering how your best weapon killed by the Baratheon girl I'm surprised you've decided to remain in the capital." Olenna couldn't help but state as she to the lord of Casterly Rock. "Though truthfully I don't believe anyone expected her to actually win the fight."

"I don't plan on staying in the capital for much longer." Tywin admitted. He had little reason to and already Robert was looking for an excuse to have him removed from the court but that didn't bother him, he would be leaving soon enough anyways. "But I have not asked you to meet me so we can discuss my presence in the capital."

"Oh no we both know why you've called me her." Olenna replied with a small smirk. "You wish my family's support to overthrow the princess. Well you fail to address the key issue, what does house Tyrell get in return?"

"Besides your granddaughter being queen?" Tywin questioned in response as he sipped his wine.

"The princess is not betrothed, and I have three grandsons, you are going to have to do better then that Lord Tywin." Olenna replied with no small amount of amusement. The fact that she had Tywin Lannister of all people coming to her for help was certainly stroking her ego.

"And of your three grandsons one is already married, another is a cripple, and third is also in a relationship with said princess' uncle. A union between Joffrey and Margaery is far more likely to happen then any of your grandsons marrying Selene." Tywin spoke back immediately causing some of Olenna's confidence to die down but only for a moment before she rallied.

"And yet your grandson hasn't exactly proven a picture of virtue and justice and given any evidence that he would make a good king." Olenna snapped back.

While Tywin gave no outward reaction, internally he was seething. He knew from all accounts that his grandson was meant to be arrogant with perhaps some cruel tendencies, but he hadn't realised to what extent. The boy possessed a sense of unearned arrogance, cowardly behaviour and even sadistic tendencies. He would be having more then a few words with Cersei about how she had raised her son, it was proving to be yet another one of her many failings.

"He's thirteen, still young with plenty of time to learn." Tywin stated before he struck from a different point. "Selene Baratheon is many things, stupid isn't one of them. She knows that there are families in Westeros that still hold loyalty to the previous regime, so she'll likely marry into one of their supporters." It did not take Olenna long to make the connection.

"You think she'll seek an alliance with the Martells." Olenna stated with no small amount of scorn for the family. The Martells and Tyrells shared a bloody history and after that blasted Red Viper crippled her grandson, she would happily see the lot of them killed off. "They aren't exactly fond of her father." She pointed out.

"Robert's popularity has been on the decline for years and after she killed Clegane, she had earned herself favour with not just the Martells but all of Dorne, and considering their _customs_ ," The word was spoken with no small amount of disdain. "Doran Martell's sons likely won't have any objections to becoming her consort. Selene doesn't need an alliance with Highgarden, Joffrey however does."

Tywin wasn't foolish enough to trust Olenna Tyrell, but what he could trust was her greed. The Tyrells wanted power, or more specifically they wanted to be tied to a royal power. There were still houses in the Reach that still wondered why they served the descendants of stewards and combine that with Mace Tyrell's stupidity, Olenna Tyrell's age and the fact that the heir of Highgarden was an unmarried cripple, there hold over power was far from secure despite their wealth second being second only to his own family, and within the next decade would eventually surpass his own when their gold mines finally ran dry.

Olenna chuckled in response. "You are right. The Baratheon girl has the loyalty of Storm's End, Winterfell and to lesser extents Riverrun and the Eyrie. Possibly even Pyke as well. Add Sunspear into the mix and it truly would be a powerful alliance." Surpassing even the Tully-Stark-Arryn-Baratheon alliance that brought down the Targaryen dynasty. The biggest question was what she should decide.

Olenna wasn't a particularly loyal woman, she was loyal only to house Tyrell and what benefitted her family the most. And an alliance between the Westerlands and the Reach would create a very powerful force. Combine the two richest kingdoms which also possess the most powerful military on this side of the Narrow Sea, and they could potentially defeat any of the other Seven Kingdoms. There was also no shortage of military leaders belonging to both Kingdoms either, more than a match for those who backed the princess.

"You do have a point Tywin, and house Tyrell is open to an alliance with house Lannister." The Tyrells would side with the Lannisters, that was a given, but it didn't change the fact that she wanted to make Tywin sweat and get the most she could out of the alliance.

 **Line Break**

For what felt like the first time in a long time Selene was having a peaceful day. All the Great houses and their nobles which had come to the capital for her father's feast, and her subsequent dual with the Mountain had finally left. The Lannisters had been the first to leave, followed not long after by the Tyrells. The Martells had left not long after, she may have killed the Mountain and endeared herself to the Red Viper but that change the fact that King's Landing held a lot of bad memories for the Dornish and none of them had any desire to remain in the capital for long.

After the Martells left nobles started leaving the capital one by one, with Yara Greyjoy being among one of the last to leave the capital only a couple of days ago. She had struck on odd friendship with the daughter of Balon Greyjoy, something that she would have considered impossible if someone told her that would be happening a year ago. Yara however was far more intelligent than most Ironborn and was far to blunt to go through all the pointless politicking that most nobles did to try and earn her favour. Then again, a year ago Selene wouldn't have believed that the White Walkers were real, the Children of the Forest still lived and that she would be named heiress of the Iron Throne.

Since she was still recovering from her wounds by Clegane, even if she was mostly healed, her father had ordered her not to be disturbed allowing her a few days of peace and quiet, something that she knew she was not going to have many of in the next few years. For better or worse Selene was going to be the future queen of Westeros, and she was going to take her job seriously. She was _not_ going to be remembered as another Rhaenyra Targaryen whose actions had justly earned the name Maegor's teats.

"Your distracted." Myrcella's soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Am I?" She asked with a smile. "I'm simply enjoying the city."

"If you're in pain we can head back." Myrcella suggested her face scrunched up in worry as she stared at her older sister.

Selene just hummed in response as she locked her arm around Mycella's. "I'm fine Cella. Besides I don't think you've ever had a proper walk around the city."

' _That's true,'_ Myrcella thought to herself as she walked down the streets of the capital with her sister and two Kingsguard protectors. Myrcella had never really just walked around and explored the city, the vast majority of her life had been spent in within the Red Keep. In fact, with the exception of a visit to Casterly Rock a few years ago she had never even left the capital.

Her mother never allowed her to travel the city, it was bellow her as a princess to mingle with commoners in the words of her mother. But Myrcella had always wanted to travel the city but there was never an opportunity. Neither of her parents were willing or interested in taking her to see the city they ruled, her uncles were all less inclined then her parents and until recently Selene had simply had far more pressing concerns then giving her sister a tour of the capital city of Westeros.

Despite smelling like a sewer there was a lot in the capital of Westeros. Markets filled with assortments of food and treats from all over Westeros and from as far as Yi Ti, silks, dresses and all sorts of clothes, performers and mummers shows. There was a lot to do in the capital and watching the wonder on Myrcella's face as they walked through its streets and markets was a very pleasing feeling for Selene, and not for the first time she wondered how Myrcella could possibly be Cersei's daughter. The two of them were truly as different as a mother and daughter could be.

Selene and Myrcella continued their journey through the capital, stopping at the many attractions and sights along the way when Selene felt something bump into her. Turning she saw it was a little boy, no older then five her six, dirty and covered in rags, having fallen to the floor when he rushed into her. "Sorry princess." The boy mumbled, staring at the floor, his accept suggesting he was definitely from one of poorer districts of the capital, most likely Flee Bottom.

"It's all right." Selene smiled as she helped the boy up to his feet.

"Thanks princess." The boy muttered as he began to rush off.

"Wait," Selene called out, causing the boy to stop in his tracks. "I think you forget something." She spoke, holding her coin purse that the boy had tried to steal from her, only for her to swipe it back when she helped him back to his feet. The boy grew fearful and started stammering apologies before she threw the coin purse to him. "Be more careful in the future. Now run along." She told the boy, who after giving a quick thanks run off.

"Why did you do that?" Myrcella asked as she stared off in the direction the boy had run.

"Why did I let him go and give him my money?" She questioned to which her sister nodded in confusion. "Because there was only a few silver stags and one or two gold dragons, its loss will have no impact on my life at all. For that boy however, it could potentially change his life."

"But that makes no sense." Myrcella objected, still confused about what Selene had done. The boy had stolen from her, regardless of whether or not she had more money didn't mean she should allow it to be stolen. And she also didn't understand what Selene meant about how it would change the boy's life.

"You've spent your entire life in luxury Myrcella with no hardship. That boy however doesn't have a hundred servants, a warm bed and a hot meal every day. If he even has a home then it won't be a good one and who knows how long it's been since he's last eaten. The loss of those coins will have no impact on me, on that boy however they've ensured that he'll have a hot meal for the rest of the week, possibly even the next month if he's careful."

Myrcella nodded slowly, understanding but still a bit confused. "But if he isn't punished what's to stop him from stealing in the future?"

"Maybe or maybe not." Selene shrugged. "But there's a time to uphold the law, and there's also a time for mercy. That's what many rulers don't understand."

Myrcella nodded, understanding her sister's words. Her mother, she knew would have had a very different reaction. Cersei would have ordered the boy's hand removed, if not his head. Her uncle Stannis probably would have cast out the usual sentence given to thieves, while she doubted her father would even notice, or care if someone had stolen his money.

Standing a few paces behind the two princesses, Ser Barristan Selmly, nicknamed the Bold watched with no small amount of pride. After such a long time serving cruel and unworthy kings he had finally found someone he could serve with pride. True serving Robert was preferable to serving Aerys. After all King Robert may be a drunk but he wasn't mad or cruel, he simply had no interest in being king.

For a long time he had thought he had found a worthy ruler in Rhaegar. After all, Rhaegar was the picture of everything that a king should be. But at some point, the infamous Targaryen madness that had plagued so many members of his family had begun to form in Rhaegar. It was a different type of madness to the one that afflicted Aerys, more subtle and far better hidden but madness all the same.

But despite Aerys madness, and the madness growing in Rhaegar he had obeyed his vows and stayed loyal to the Targaryens. But that didn't mean that it was easy, and truthfully, he couldn't really blame Jaime for killing Aerys. Truthfully the thought had crossed his own mind that if he had killed Aerys when he had first started showing signs of madness, how much blood Westeros would have been saved. But he had stayed his hand and remained loyal to the family that had risen him up from being a minor noble in the Stormlands to a member of the Kingsguard. To the point that he had almost refused Robert Baratheon's offer to become a member of his Kingsguard. However Robert had showed something that neither Aerys or Rhaegar understood, mercy. He had fought for Robert's enemy yet the Stormlord had not only spared him but had had him treated by his personal maester.

But while he had agreed to serve the now King Robert there had still been issues. Robert was still a terrible king with no desire to truly rule the Seven Kingdoms, preferring to enjoy the privileges that came with being king rather then dealing with the responsibility that came with it. For the most part it hadn't really mattered, the Small Council had been able to keep the kingdoms running efficiently for the most part but eventually corruption had began to spread throughout the capital, debts by the crown started growing, taxes started being raised and discontent was growing with the Small Council seemingly not knowing, or caring to resolve the situation.

He doubted that Selene even realised how much of an impact she even had on the city. Through both legal, and not so legal means the city had become a better place over the last year. Oh he knew that the princess was responsible for the deaths of Slynt, Deem and his top lieutenants but in truth Ser Barristan couldn't bring himself to care. The men were scum and in truth the world was a better place without them. It had taken him a while to work out the princess was responsible but after watching Selene fight he had made the connection. Barristan had seen and fought in countless battles, and he could differentiate the different types of warriors, and princess had all the signs of an assassin, and a skilled one as well.

Ser Barristan hadn't told his observations to anyone, not even the king, and truthfully he had no intention to because for the first time in his life he had found someone he could serve with pride. And he had no intention of revealing any of her secrets.

"Excuse me princess." A little boy, roughly eight or nine name days old asked from the crowd who had gathered to observe the two princesses.

"Yes?" Selene questioned curiously.

"May I see your sword?" The boy asked shyly as he glanced at Lightbringer.

"Of course you can." Selene replied smiling at the child as she withdrew her blade from its sheeth, the sword growing brightly as she kneeled in front of the boy, taking pride out of the look of awe and wonder that not only the boy, but many others watching were giving Lightbringer.

"A heathen's weapon, wielded by an unworthy princess." A harsh voice called, causing gasps of shock and horror to fill the street. Getting off her knees Selene looked to the person who had spoken and bit back a groin of annoyance. _'And the day had been going so well so far,'_ Selene thought to herself.

"High Septon." Selene greeted with a false smile, which the new High Septon didn't even bother attempting to return. Settling for looking at her in disgust instead.

In hindsight assassinating the previous High Septon had perhaps not been the smartest move on her part. True the man was completely corrupt and inept, but he was predictable and easily manipulated. As the saying went better the enemy that you know. The new High Septon was far more radical than the previous one, and Selene knew nothing about him.

The new Hight Septon was not someone to be taken likely, unlike his predecessor who was commonly called the Fat One, the man before her was anything but obese, having a strong build, and from the lack of odour a sign that this septon at least bathed. This Septon was an enigma and she truly had no idea what to make of him. He was smarter then his predecessor and while he wasn't corrupt (a small miracle considering how the majority of the Most Devout was in one person or another's pocket) he was by no means a supporter of her. And Selene knew she had to be careful around him. Though the power of the Faith had fallen over the last few centuries, one of the key points of the Targaryen rule, they still possessed a great deal of influence.

Selene wasn't a supporter of the Faith of the Seven, or any religion for that matter. While she believed that there was more to the world then she would ever know, she didn't believe in the gods themselves. Not that she was stupid enough to advertise her believe and Selene often gave lip service to the sept in Storm's End and the Great Sept of Baelor merely to keep pious fools from bothering her. And she was always sure to avoid any questions about whether she prayed to the Old Gods or the New. Something she would have to be careful of in the near future as this High Septon was bound to ask questions that she didn't want asked.

"Am I wrong, your grace?" The High Septon spoke mockingly. "After all, you wield a weapon belonging to a heathen king, a blade forged in the fires of the Seven Hells." Selene hadn't been an expert on matters of religion in her last life, but she was fairly certain that Lucifer had also been called the light bringer, so ironically enough from a certain point of the view the Septon in front of her wasn't wrong. Not that anyone knew of the irony, hell despite having Seven hells, the religion didn't actually have a devil, although if Selene remembered her lessons correctly there was a Lord of the Seven hells who basically was the devil.

By now there was a large gathering of people present who were watching the conflict in interest. There were also mutters of agreement spreading around the street, some clearly having the similar opinions to the High Septon. In response Selene simply raised Lightbringer up into the air, it's white light growing even brighter as it reflected the sun.

"They call this sword Lightbringer High Septon. You call it a heathens blade yet how do you know it wasn't the skills of the Smith that created this weapon in order to spread the light of the Seven, and that was how the Last Hero was able to use this sword to free Westeros from the Long Night?" She questioned the man as he blustered slightly and more whispers spread among the onlookers, this time in agreement with her.

The High Septon glared at her but seeing the lack of support he had he chose to let the argument die, leaving with as much dignity as he could muster.

"That was amazing." Myrcella spoke with awe as she watched the High Septon leave with his tail between his legs.

"When it comes to Septons and Septas sister, the best thing to do is use their own arguments against them. Fight religion with religion." Selene told her sister as she placed Lightbringer back in its sheath.

She'd won this round with the Faith, time would tell what happened the second time.

 **Line Break**

Cersei glared at the man in front of her in pure, untamed hatred. "I will not allow it." She told the man she was forced to call her husband. However, in the past when Robert would balk under her hatred this time, he stood his ground as stared directly at her with equal, if not greater amounts of hatred.

"My decision is final." Robert told her firmly.

"I will not allow you to send my son to those barbarians." Cersei snapped at him.

"You will be careful of how you address them. The Starks are far more noble then the Lannisters could ever hope to be."

Cersei snorted at the response but didn't say anything in response, she was in no mood for another argument with Robert about the so called honourable Starks. "That doesn't excuse you wanting to send Tommen their to freeze and die."

"Going to Winterfell will be good for Tommen. Get him out of this stink hole of a city."

"Casterly Rock is far more suitable then Winterfell, and also closer." She snapped in return though she doubted that argument would work.

"If I was going to send any of my children to Casterly Rock then it would not be Tommen." Robert replied. _'They're not your children you fat drunk,'_ Cersei wanted to scream but managed to hold herself back.

"This is punishment."

"Yes, it is." Robert answered not even denying it. "You, your father and Joffrey plotted to have my daughter killed. You should be thankful that I haven't sent that boy to the Night's Watch along with your father and sent you to the Silent Sisters. You can complain all you want Cersei, but Tommen will be leaving for Winterfell within the month."

 **Line Break**

He was not happy. In fact, Joffrey could not remember the last time he had been so angry. A year ago, his life had been perfect. He was the future king of Westeros, everyone had to do what he said, when he said it, and no one had the courage to stand. After all he was Lannister and a Baratheon, a member of the two most powerful houses in Westeros. And then everything had come crashing down. All because of one person.

His sister.

Everything had come crashing down when she had returned from the dark dreary castle of Storm's End where she had been rightfully banished after the bitch had dared to attack him. She could have even killed him.

After she had been sent to Storm's End everything had been perfect. Oh, sure his father had began viewing him in disdain and wanted little to do with him, but he still had his mother. So, what if his sister was apparently growing popular among the drunken and gloomy Stormlords, as a future king they would be loyal to him and when he became king he would gladly marry off his sister to some old fossil like Arryn or Walder Frey as punishment for her assault against him and that would be the last he would hear of his sister.

Never however did he imagine that his sister would return to King's Landing and take away everything he held dear. No longer did the lions control the court but it was now a den of weak and foolish stags. His mother's supporters had been removed from the court as well as the city watch which had been filled by men from the Stormlands and with a woman put in charge of them of all things. Not that you could really tell that the hideous beast was a woman. Brienne the _beauty_ indeed.

The only good thing that had happened since his sister had returned to the capital was that he no longer had to put up with Tommen's presence. But that was a meagre consolidation.

And now, now she had taken his birth right, his crown. No longer was he the future king of Westeros, he was now nothing, and his idiot grandfather had only made things worse by getting his bumbling oaf killed. His power was slipping from his grasp, no longer were the servants afraid of him and did his orders without question, no longer did the nobles that roamed the court view him with the respect that he deserved.

And finally, his sister had somehow managed to uncover the sword of legend, the weapon of the Last Hero who stood against the White Walkers in the Long Night. The sword had many names, Starbreaker, Othersbane, Stormborn, Andal breaker and the Blade of Destruction being the most prominent ones. Although another name was quickly being used; Lightbringer.

' _It should be mine,'_ Joffrey thought seething with rage. He was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, he should be the one to wield Lightbringer. What was worse was that since Selene possessed Lightbringer there were many who whispered that she was the rightful heir and that his father had been right to name her his successor. Those whispers enraged him even further, but there was little he could do about it. When he had ordered the guards to execute the servant, he had caught speaking such lies they had refused to obey him. Treacherous Stormlander swine. They'd pay for their treason when he was king, that he promised.

Sneaking into Selene's room had not been easy. Luckily the Kingsguard standing guard outside his half sister's room had been Ser Mandon Moore and he had permitted him through and had even provided a distraction to keep the Baratheon guards occupied for a few moments allowing him to slip past.

He saw Selene sleeping peacefully on the bed, and empty bottle of Milk of the Poppy on the bedside table. Joffrey fingered the knife on his belt, even drawing it a few inches as and he stepped closer to the bed, the urge to slice open her throat from ear to ear and giving her a permanent red smile was growing.

He would prove himself the stronger if he killed her. Afterall how could his sister possibly protect the Seven Kingdoms when she couldn't even protect herself. It would also show his father that he was worthy of his affections not his sister.

But then he caught sight of the desk in the corner of the room near the windows. Lightbringer, the sword of legends was placed on top of it. The sword was no longer glowing but there was no mistaking it for anything else. Immediately thoughts of slicing Selene's throat left his mind as he ogled the blade with greed.

Walking over to it he couldn't help but grin at the sight of it. "This blade will be mine, proof of my right to rule." He muttered as he grasped the handle of the sword. When the blade glowed the same bright light, it had when Selene fought the Mountain Joffrey grinned and started laughing manically as he raised the sword in the air.

A second later his smile became a grimace, which soon morphed into an expression of pure agony, and his laughing evolved into screaming as pain unlike anything he had felt or could even possibly imagine coursed through him, originating from the hand that held Lightbringer. Soon the pain became too much, and he collapsed onto the floor unconscious.

The second Selene was woken by the screaming she withdrew the dagger that she always had on her and marched out of bed, not caring anything about being onloy in her night clothes as a dozen guards led by Ser Mandon of the Kingsguard burst into her room with swords drawn. The group observed the form of Joffrey lying on the floor, Lightbringer a few feet away from him, glowing an ominous red colour.

Joffrey was not in a good state. His body was convulsing badly, foam was starting to pour out of his mouth and his eyes were bloodshot to the point it looked like a blood vessel had been burst. His right hand, which Selene knew was previously holding Lightbringer was also severely burnt and certainly going to leave him with permanent scars.

"You two get the Grand Maester now." Selene bellowed at two of her guards. "Ser Mandon get him onto the bed." She ordered and the Vale knight did so.

"There's going to be hell to pay for this." She muttered to herself, not knowing just how right she would be.

 **Line Break**

"Gregor Clegane is dead." Arron Sand, secretly Aegon Targaryen had repeated those words almost a dozen times and yet he still could not quite believe it. Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides, the man who had been the monster under his bed growing up, a picture of fear and dread to the secret Targaryen prince, and the man who had raped and murdered his mother had been killed.

It was certainly quite a big shock. It seemed that Selene Baratheon's reputation as a warrior was by no means exaggerated. The equivalent of Visenya Targaryen for the Baratheon family. Truthfully Arron had never really given much thought to the Baratheon heiress, and when he did think about her it was never in a positive light.

How could he after all? He knew just how false the rumour of Lyanna Stark being kidnapped by his father was and considering the why the man had reacted to the death of his mother and sister, and the fact that if Robert Baratheon knew he was alive he would more then likely call for his head, had certainly marred his impression of her. Now however, now he really had no idea how he felt regarding her. Grateful for avenging his mother, relieved that no one would ever suffer at the hands of Gregor Clegane again, and even angry. He had long dreamed of being the one to kill the Mountain, to gain justice for his murdered mother, justice that he would now never get.

He was also curious, very curious in fact. The woman who was to be the first ruling Queen of Westeros since his ancestor Rhaenyra Targaryen was certainly someone to be curious about, and after killing Clegane Arron was even more so.

"So how are taking the news?" Turning Arron saw Daemon Sand standing a few feats behind him. As his uncle's former squire (and rumoured lover) as well as being one of Dorne's best warriors Daemon was privy to several of House Martell's closely kept secrets, his parentage being one of them.

"Still trying to wrap my head around it." He answered his friend. "But I'm pleased, Clegane is dead and rotting in the Seven hells and I'm grateful to Selene Baratheon for making it so."

Daemon hummed in response. "Arron, if you don't mind me asking but do you even want to be king?"

Arron looked at Daemon in surprise, not expecting that question, although it was something that he had been thinking about a lot over the last few weeks. "Is there any boy in Westeros or Essos who doesn't dream of being king?" He asked with a smirk causing Daemon to snort slightly. "To be honest I don't actually know. I know my uncles are plotting to crown me king, and I don't even know what kind of king I would be. Hell, I don't even know if Westeros even wants another Targaryen king after everything _Rhaegar_ and _Aerys_ have done." The amount of hate spoken in the names of his father and grandfather was almost enough to make Daemon flinch at the rage his friend possessed to certain members of his family. Rage that was completely understandable.

House Targaryen had produced a few bad eggs in the past, Maegor the Cruel and Aegon the Unworthy came to mind, but there had also been good kings such as Jaehaerys the Councillor and Daeron the Good, and the prosperity brought to Westeros as a united kingdom also gave a lot of signs that the Targaryens had, for the most part at least, been good rulers of Westeros. The actions of Rhaegar and Aerys however had tarnished house Targaryen in Arron's mind. Possibly even forever. A good king was meant to protect the land that they ruled, not let it be engulfed by chaos and destruction.

"What about you Daemon? What kind of king do you think I'd be if I ever sat my ass on the Iron Throne?" Daemon couldn't help but notice how his friend had said if not when.

"I know you'd make a better king then any fool who's sat upon it in the last fifty years. A king Westeros would be proud of." Granted that wasn't saying much compared to the previous, and even the current king but Daemon knew his friend and knew what the words meant to him. Arron, or Aegon as his true name was, didn't know if he would make a good king, and that was why his friend didn't want to consider taking the throne, he didn't want to risk condemning Westeros to yet another mad king. After all, Aerys had been perfectly sane in his youth and before the Usurper's Rebellion Rhaegar was largely considered as someone who would be a king as great as the Councillor himself. But Daemon knew his friend, and he was a better man then either Rhaegar or Aerys ever was.

"Anyway, I came to tell you that we've been hired. Connington has ordered us on the move."

"Where are we headed?" Arron asked curiously.

"Volantis. Not sure on the details but it has something to do with the Dothraki."

 **End of chapter**

 **Sorry for the delay but I've been busy, had exams and been focusing on my other stories. But here it is.**

 **Also, a lot of people asked why I didn't include any of the Tyrells or Tyrion, well the answer is simple. I didn't put the Tyrells in the poll because I don't like them enough and I didn't put Tyrion in because I don't think I can do his character justice by making him one of the main characters in this story.**

 **I know that King Mudd used a Warhammer instead of a sword but for its sake just imagine that he used Lightbringer instead. Also, as you can probably tell I decided to add a bit more to the legend of Lightbringer beyond it simply being the fabled sword of Azor Ahai. And as it turns out Selene is wrong, not just anyone can wield Lightbringer, even though Joffrey could hardly be considered worthy.**

 **Also, in case anyone is wondering why Mandon Moore was guarding the princess over one of the other kingsguard that's simple. While she knows not to trust Jaime, Blount, Trant and Greenfield, for being Lannister supporters she doesn't have a reason to suspect that Mandon Moore would be more loyal to the Lannisters then her, hence she permits him to guard her when wither Ser Arys and Ser Barristan can't.**

 **Also, regarding the reviews and questions about Aegon. Starting with the easiest he is NOT a Blackfyre, but he also isn't the Young Griff from the books (** who I personally do believe is a Blackfyre **). He was raised in Dorne alongside his cousins with most believing him to be the bastard son of Oberyn Martell. Aegon/Arron isn't as naive as either Daenerys or Young Griff about his family history and he knows that there just as many bad Targaryen kings as there were good one.**

 **Fourth important thing to say, in case anyone is wondering why no lords from the North are present in the capital well the Northerners have a reputation of not bothering with the South, so their absence isn't that surprising not to mention Selene discovered a massive amount of gold in Winterfell, so the Starks and their main bannermen are investing that gold into their lands, reconstructing ruined keeps, building roads, etc. Therefore many consider travelling to all the way to King's Landing not a priority, especially when there's work to be done in the North.**

 **In case anyone thinks that Ser Barristan's thoughts regarding Selene killing Slynt and the like are not what he would actually think and feel, do keep in mind that while he is honourable, he is still the man who stood by and did nothing as Aerys raped his wife and killed countless people, so it's not as if he's innocent or that he doesn't understand that some actions are necessary. He views Selene's actions as necessary.**

 **Next chapter, will Joffrey survive? Selene travels to Essos, Jon makes a discovery, Aegon arrives in Volantis and we finally see Daenerys.**

 **Daenerys won the poll, Aegon came second and now I'm even more undecided between the two because I like both choices so much. So putting up a new pole with three options and whichever one wins will be the final official pairing for this story. I know some people will probably be annoyed at this but I really cannot decide between the two. But at least I now know that it will be these two, and no one else. Also even if Aegon doesn't win he still has a fairly important role in this story. It's more Daenerys' role that will be changed as a result.**

 **Selene/Daenerys**

 **Selene/Aegon**

 **Daenerys/Selene/Aegon**


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry about the delay but I ended up rewriting this chapter because I was disappointed with the way that the chapter was turned out and this is a better version then the previous one.**

 **Season eight just because I fancy talking about it. Honestly I think people are overreacting and trying to point out tiny faults and blowing them out of proportion. The only part that I really disliked was Bran becoming king, which I didn't like for three reasons. One, no medieval society would ever elect a cripple to rule over them, two I honestly think he would make a terrible king, he certainly didn't seem bothered during the council meeting and three I was hoping for Jon to become king, although I did like him going North of the Wall instead. In fact my opinions on many key characters such as Daenerys, Jon and Tyrion has actually improved massively as a result of the last season, and likewise my opinion of Sansa has gone straight to hell with her replacing Ellaria Sand as my least favourite character, backstabbing bitch with an inflated sense of her own importance who only desires herself becoming queen, she truly is Littlefinger's successor and a disgrace to everything the Starks stand for. Anyway I'm not saying season eight didn't have its faults because it did but overall I consider it a worthy conclusion to a brilliant show and I am eagerly looking forward to any future successor shows of it.**

 **Mage of the Storm chapter 12**

Cersei Lannister looked like she was ready to explode or order her death. She seemed to be going back and forth between anger at her and worry for Joffrey. It was intriguing watching the changing expressions on her face as queen went from going purple with anger to completely pale with worry before turning red as she glanced in her direction and worry was replaced with anger.

Selene knew that there was going to be hell to pay if Joffrey died, something she honestly didn't actually want to happen. She may hate her brother, he was sadistic and cruel but that didn't mean that she wanted him dead. And truthfully she blamed Joffrey's personality more on Cersei's parenting then anything else.

She, her father, Cersei and Jaime Lannister along with Jon Arryn and the rest of the Kingsguard waited outside Joffrey's chambers as Grand Maester Marwyn did whatever he could to try and treat Joffrey. Personally Selene wasn't sure if anything could be done to help Joffrey. Lightbringer was ancient, and the spells that were weaved into the blade were so masterfully done that even contemplating what had been done to Joffrey would be near impossible.

"And what is going to done to the _princess_ in response to what happened to my son?" Cersei demanded, practically spitting out her title.

Jon Arryn sighed in response and Selene couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the elderly man. Being Hand was not an easy job and from the bags under his eyes and the way they were bloodshot this clearly was not the first sleepless night he had had. "Unfortunately until we know more about what is happening to Joffrey, we can't issue any form of punishment upon her." Jon Arryn replied diplomatically, attempting to keep the peace but from the thundering look Cersei gave the lord of the Eyrie it was wasted.

"And why not?" Cersei growled out, sounding more like the lion on her banners then the regal queen she liked to portray herself as.

"I don't think you want to speak about punishments, your grace." Selene replied mockingly, drawing Cersei's ire away from Jon Arryn, causing the man to send her a grateful nod in response. Dealing with Cersei was stressful even in the best of times.

"And why not?"

"Because the biggest question is what was Joffrey doing in my room while I was sleeping with my sword in his hand? What were his intentions? And most importantly why the hell did the Kingsguard allow him to enter my room without any objection?" Selene finished listing, giving a pointed look towards Mandon Moore who remained completely stone faced.

"I'd like to know that as well Moore." Her father all but snarled out.

"As would I." Ser Barristan added giving his own glare at his fellow kingsguard. Despite the hostile looks pointed at his direction Moore neither twitched nor showed any sign of unease. It wasn't Moore's skill with a blade that made him dangerous, it was his personality.

"The prince wanted the opportunity to speak with his sister, why when it was so late and night and she was sleeping I don't know. It's not my place to question royalty. And the princess wasn't in any way harmed, whereas the Grand Maester is currently treating the prince for as of yet unknown injuries." Ser Mandon answered calmly and evenly.

That in turn drew their attention back to her. "I don't know what has happened to Joffrey." Selene replied honestly. She could guess, it was common in her old life for powerful magical objects to have safeguards against being stolen and considering the spell work in Lightbringer it would probably be more surprising if nothing had happened to Joffrey but what did happen to him she honestly had no idea.

"You really expect us to believe that?!" Cersei snarled causing to spittle to fly out of her mouth and looking into her green eyes Selene saw nothing but madness and hatred.

"I don't really care what you believe, what happened is that Joffrey sneaked into my room while I was sleeping and injured himself. You can ask him yourself when he wakes if you don't believe me." She told Cersei.

Cersei glared at her with enough hatred to melt the Wall but Selene didn't give her another thought. Her mind was already preoccupied with the potential consequences of what would happen if Joffrey died. If he died then she knew it would mean a war with the Westerlands, something that had been hard enough to avoid in the aftermath of her fight with Gregor Clegane, her father's first instinct being to put Tywin Lannister's head on a spike but Selene had convinced him to let the Lannisters be. Maybe it wasn't her smartest decision but Selene intended to rule all of Westeros, including the Westerlands. Not only that but the true enemy wasn't the Lannisters but what lied north of the Wall.

Selene vividly remembered her vision of Storm's End being destroyed and the Night King killing her. If she was to defeat the White Walkers then she needed Westeros, all of Westeros united. Which, unfortunately, included the Lannisters.

The door to Joffrey's chambers opened and the Grand Maester exited the room, a bead of sweat glistening from his brow. The elderly maester looked completely exhausted. "How is my son?" Cersei asked, all traces of anger being replaced by worry. If Cersei had any redeeming qualities, it was that she truly did love Joffrey.

"The prince lives, however he remains unconscious and I have done all I can for him. It is up to him whether he awakens." Marwyn explained and it was all she could do to keep her face impassive, but it was harder for other people present. Her father was sporting an expression of guilt and regret, an expression almost identical to that on Jaime Lannister's visage. Cersei's look of concern however had once again become an expression of rage.

"Do not underestimate my son you grey rat." Cersei snarled. "My son is a lion, he will survive whatever that whore has done to him."

"Grand Maester, can we see my son?" Her father asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"Of course your grace." Marwyn answered as he began to walk away along with the members of the Small Council and the Kingsguard, leaving her uncles, her father, Cersei and Selene herself. The rest of them entered Joffrey's chambers while Selene remained outside, she knew Cersei would not want her presence inside and considering what was happening to Joffrey the least Selene could do was accommodate that.

Selene waited outside for the rest and after a few minutes her uncles Renly and Stannis. "How is he?" She asked, Marwyn not been very specific on the details.

"He's in a bad shape." Renly admitted with a wince.

"There is going to be consequences because of this Selene." Stannis warned her.

"I didn't anything to Joffrey." She snapped at them.

"And we believe you Selene." Renly reassured her. "But unfortunately, others won't believe the same." He warned her and with that her two uncles walked away.

Selene continued waiting outside, waiting for her father and Cersei to leave before she went to see her brother. A few minutes later her father walked out the door, his face red with tears in his eyes. "Father?" She asked cautiously but he walked past her with nary a word or glance his eyes distant and distracted.

Selene did not have to wait for long for Cersei to exit the room and when she did a large sneer came upon the bitchs face. "Why are you still here?"

"Waiting for my chance to see my brother?" Cersei's lip twitched in amusement at that but what she found amusing Selene didn't know.

"Why? So you can finish the job?" Cersei snarled, her eyes promising eternal pain and suffering.

"If I wanted Joffrey dead, I would not have summoned the Grand Maester to help him." Selene stated but she knew her words were pointless and in truth she didn't care what Cersei thought.

"Say whatever you wish, I know that you are responsible for what has happened to my son and I promise you Selene, that one day you won't know when, you won't know how but I will take someone close to you and they will suffer for what you have done and remember Selene a Lannister pays their debts." Cersei threatened her voice low and dangerous.

"Out of respect for the condition your son is in I will overlook your words. However, if you ever try to attack those closest to me then I won't bother attacking those closest to you. I will simply kill you, and you would do well to remember Cersei that Lannisters aren't the only the ones who pay their debts." Selene left her own warning. She wasn't one for petty revenge, if Cersei was stupid enough to attack those she cared about then she would simply kill the woman in response, consequences be damned.

She didn't bother saying anything else as she entered her brother's chambers, closing the door behind her as she did so.

Joffrey was in a pitiful state, he was pale, sweating and bandages were wrapped around the hand that was holding Lightbringer, her sword having burnt her brother's hand. She knew the words that lay under those bandages, forever burned into her brother's forearm, _'UNWORTHY,'_ her blade having decided that Joffrey was unfit to wield it. Selene did not like her brother, they had never gotten along but looking at him now she felt no hatred only pity.

Selene walked over to where Lightbringer was placed, Marwyn having requested the sword's presence to see if it could give any indication what to what had happened to Joffrey. The red glow had faded and Lightbringer looked like an ordinary sword. Selene grasped the sword, her magic practically singing as she did so and the white glow returned to the sword.

"I don't like you Joffrey, but I don't hate you either. You're a sadistic little shit and I'm not much of a believer in redemption but I do hope you will become a better person." She spoke to him as she kneeled on the floor next to him, placing Lightbringer in front of her knees as she placed her hands on his chest and began focusing her magic.

She wasn't sure if what she was trying would even work but she had to try.

Selene breathed deeply as she began to focus her magic outwards, towards her brother. What she was doing was using her magic to try and heal what Lightbringer had done to him. There was no guarantee it would work especially as she couldn't even be sure what it was that her sword had done to him.

Selene did not cast any enchantments, the magic she was using was older beyond spells, relying on pure instinct and intention, to try and heal her brothers.

She could feel the room around her as her magic as her magic reached outwards, sense the power of Lightbringer, the ancient sword acting as a conduit for her magic, allowing it to reach out and she could sense her brother, the lingering traces of magic in his body from Lightbriger, the power of the sword simply being too much for him and its traces slowly killing him.

Selene reached out for those remnants of magic that help her brother, purging them from his system until finally Joffrey awoke screaming in shock while Selene collapsed onto the floor panting from the extensive use of magic.

The sound of Joffrey's screaming quickly attracted attention with her father, Cersei and Marwyn quickly rushing into the room, as Selene picked herself up off the floor, Lightbringer in her hand. Cersei didn't hesitate for a second before she launched herself at the bed, enveloping her son in a hug as he calmed down and finally stopped screaming.

"Selene, what did you do?" Her father asked cautiously standing by the door.

"I helped him." She snapped as she walked past her father, she was tired, magically drained and she just really wanted to go to sleep and she was halfway to her chambers when noticed someone was following her.

Taking a small detour Selene began travelling down a small unused part of the Red Keep, and when she was cewrtain there was no one else around she finally confronted the person who was following her. "Is there a reason your stalking me, Grand Maester?" Selene asked.

"Actually there is Princess." Marwyn answered as he walked up to her with a book in his hand. "This is for you." He said giving it to her.

"'The Mystical Arts' by Visenya Targaryen." Selene raid the title on the book Marwyn had just handed to her, giving the Grand Maester a questioning look but inside her heart had skipped a beat in suspicion. _'Did the man know about her magic?'_ She wondered. "While a book belong to one of the very first Targaryens is certainly a precious gift I'm afraid I don't understand why you have gifted it to me." Selene replied putting on a face of confusion, all the while her hand tightened around the hilt of Lightbringer, more then ready to use the sword if necessary.

Marwyn rolled his eyes at her words. He didn't respond and instead he placed his hand to his lips and muttered something that she couldn't here but it wasn't what she didn't here that shocked her it was what she felt. Marwyn opened his closed fist, revealing a small flame in the palm of his hand.

"You have magic." She stated.

"And so do you." He spoke back.

 **Line Break**

From his office in one of his largest establishments Baelish gazed out the window into the streat bellow. He always enjoyed this sight because it he owned this street. Every building, every goldcloak and every peasent worker, they all answered to him. He enjoyed this sight because it was a symbol of how he had grown stronger since that fateful day, how he had become one of the richest and most influential lords of Westeros, and most were too stupid to realise it. Many simply saw him as a toothless lord who was skilled with numbers, others saw him as someone who was more of a merchant then a noble and the great majority of nobles of was forced to interact with considered him little more then a lowborn who had risen beyond his natural place, servicing nobility. He hated those nobles were then anything and he would take great pleasure in putting them in their place.

Even those who knew him to be dangerous and influential failed to realise just how so. Mostly because there was only one person in the capital who realised how dangerous he was and that was Varys, and because all the other key players in capital all had larger threats and bigger enemies to deal with then the minor noble from the Vale who had managed climb to the position of Master of Coin.

The master of Whisperers was the only member of the Small Council he truly respected, the others Baelish simply possessed a great deal of scorn for. Renly Baratheon, a prime example of a noble being given a position of power he had neither earned nor deserved, Stannis was little more then a brute who spent most of his time gritting his teeth about imagined slights. Ser Barristan, a man who liked to profess honour and yet he happily serves one King after another because his oaths demand it. The new Grandmaester Marwyn was a bit of an enigma and more dangerous then Pycelle but not someone to be considered a threat. And then their was Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King.

When he was first hired as master of coin after the Greyjoy Rebellion when his predecessor had passed away in his sleep the old falcon had watched him like a hawk. After all Jon Arryn was an old man and one did not reach such an old age by being weak or feeble and Jon Arryn was neither and the man had known not to trust him especially with the amount of rumours surrounding him from his fostering in Riverrun. But even though it had taken years Baelish had gained Jon Arryn's trust and since then his power had grown on a level even he was honestly surprised at.

Varys was the only one who understood how dangerous he truly was, and likewise he was probably the only one who realised just how dangerous the spymaster was. Both of them had no armies, no lands and little in the way of titles but they both had their words, which in the right hands was more dangerous then any weapon. Though he had never found out who Varys was truly loyal to but Baelish had never believed that it was to the realm like he always proclaimed.

Then their was the princess Selene Baratheon. Not the most dangerous, or even the most cunning person he had met but all the same she was not someone to underestimate. She was resourceful and incorruptible and she had made it abundantly clear that she was no ally of his. In fact she had even tried to have him removed from his position as Master of Coin. Luckily while Selene held the Kings ear so did Jon Arryn and Baelish held Jon Arryn's ear. But still he knew that with the princess actively undermining him, even going so far as proposing alternate candidates for his post as master of coin, he would have to be careful as well as prove himself capable for the position he managed. Therefore he had to actively work to remove the current debt the Iron Throne faced.

To be truthful Baelish actually had little to do with the debt facing the crown, it had already been in debt when he had been made master of coin and he instead simply used the debt to his advantage as a means of spreading his influence all over the Seven Kingdoms. And the loss of the debt would have a great impact upon his influence but he had no choice, unless he wanted to be replaced he had to work and in the words of the princess 'do your job or we'll find someone who can.'

Baelish would do what was asked of him, if only because he had no alternative but he would not allow the way the princess spoke to him go unpunished. He had come to far to be removed by a fawn bitch spawned by a Stark whore. He was already taking measure to bring about the downfall of the princess and the incident and scaring involving prince Joffrey was something he was already using as means to weaken the princess's support, having rumours spread that Selene had purposely scared her brother with the very mark that she had on her hand to denounce him as unworthy.

The Lannisters may be sitting on the side-lines right now but it was only a matter of time before they finally declared war and when they did he would be the knife that stabbed the Baratheons in the back. After all Petyr Baelish, Lord Paramount of the Stormlands was a rather impressive title after all.

 **Line Break**

Arron liked Volantis, it was an ancient city of great beauty, culture and importance and while it had its faults he definitely enjoyed wandering the first Valyrian colony ever to be founded. The markets were pacted with goods from all over Essos, displays of wealth were visible in every corner it was a truly prosperous city. A city built on slavery yes, but still one of the greatest cities in the known world despite its slaver economy.

"So how long before we're on the move again?" Garin asked curiously as they wandered the various stalls along the great bridge of Volantis.

"Not long." He answered his friend. "Connington has already spoken with the three Triachs and were going to be on the move soon."

"Any ideas on what's specifically happened?" Daemon asked as well.

"A Dothraki Khal has been attacking Volantis settlements all along the Rhoyne river. We and several other sellsword companies will be charged with removing the Dothraki threat in the area." Arron replied.

"For the Dothraki to have attacked so far south shows they are getting far bolder in their raids." Garin spoke with a certain amount of unease. Unease that was shared by his friends, the three of them had been in the Free Cities long enough to know what sort of damage the Dothraki could cause.

"Well once we've pushed them back it should keep the Dothraki at bay for a while, they respect strength and the only reason they are attacking is because they believe Volantis weak." Daemon stated.

"Or they could see it as a personal challenge." Arron countered, only time would tell.

"Excuse me my good sir." A voice called out getting their attention. Turning around the three of them saw a man dressed in red robes identifying him as a priest of R'hllor, flanked by two of the Red guards officially called the Fiery Hand. "Yes you." The priest spoke pointing at Arron. "The High Priestess wishes to speak to you. Alone." The priest added.

"Are you crazy?" Daemon asked taking a step forward, with a hand on his sword hilt, prompting the two guards with the priest to do the same before the priest gestured them to stand down.

"If I intended him harm then I would not bother with asking him to come." He stated in response.

"What does the High Priestess want with me?" Arron demanded.

"I am not privy to that information." The priest stated. "But she did say to tell you it concerns the 'prince that was promised' said that those words would gain your attention."

' _Well, she's right about that,'_ Arron thought. 'The prince that was promised' He knew those words very well, the words that had drove his father mad. "Very well, I'll meet the High Priestess."

"What?" Garin bellowed.

"Arron you can't. It's not safe." Daemon argued.

"No harm will come to you, you have my word." The priest vowed.

"I'll take your word for it." Arron stated with reluctance. He wanted, no he needed to know what this priest knew about him. The risk was simply to great to ignore. "Now let's go," He said as he followed the priest through the streets of Volantis until they arrived at the Red Temple, the largest in all of Volantis.

Architecture was never something that had ever really appealed to Arron but he couldn't deny the beauty and craftmanship that went into building the Red Temple. The temple was an enormity of pillars, steps, bridges, domes and towers that all flowed into one colossal building. It was also exceptionally colourful with hundreds of hues of colours ranging from red, to yellow, to gold, looking something akin to a sunset. It was easily one of the most beautiful and impressive building he had ever seen.

"Magnificent isn't it." The priest remarked with clear pride in his voice.

"That it is." Arron agreed as the two of them walked up to the entrance of the temple, passing a group of the Red Hand guards who watched them wearily.

The inside of the temple was no less impressive then the outside as down every corrider there seemed to be some ancient tapestry or sculpture showing beautiful workmanship. One tapestry in particular caught his attention

One half of it was completely covered in shadow, illustrating a hidden enemy while the other half was of a man wielding a sword covered in white flames. "Azor Ahai, or the last Hero as he is known to you Westerosi." The priest explained. "And here we are." He announced as they reached two massive oak doors.

"High Priestess Kinvara, I have brought the boy."

"Thank you Priest Jor, you may leave us." Kinvara spoke and with a boy Priest Jor left him the High Priestess and another man who stood in the room. "Aegon Targaryen, this is Thoros of Myr, Thoros meet the young prince." She introduced, causing Thoros' eyes to widen in shock and Arron was surprised as well at the presence of a man who was believed to have abandoned the red faith and had become a practically permanent fixture of the Baratheon court.

"Aegon." Thoros muttered still in shock.

"I prefer Arron." He countered. "How do you know who I am?" He demanded turning his attention to Kinvara, getting to the point of why he was here.

"I doubt you would believe me if I told you." She spoke.

"Try me." Arron challenged.

"I have always been partial to the sight, being able to see things others cannot. That's how I learnt you were alive. And for your second question which you are going to ask, no I don't intend to reveal your identity."

"Then what is it you want from me? If you think that I'm the prince who was promised-" He started before she interrupted him.

"Actually I don't believe you are the prince who was promised, but that doesn't mean you don't have an important destiny ahead of you."

"Destiny?" Arron asked with a snort. "My father was obsessed with the concept of destiny and it drove him mad. So I'm not interested in whatever you have so say about my 'destiny.'"

Kinvara was silent for a few moments before she answered. "Only a fool blindly follows the words of seers and ramblings of prophecies, and trying to control fate is like playing with wildfire, it only ends in disaster as your father. Your scepticism makes you wiser then Rhaegar. However it is a bigger fool who completely ignores the warnings foretold. After all if Aenys Targaryen had refused to head his daughter's warning then he the Targaryens would have died with the rest of the dragonlords and the world would be worse off because of it."

"Which brings me to my second point, why do you deny your own gifts of foresight?" She questioned.

"I—I d- don't know what you are talking about." He denied, hating the way his voice stuttered.

"You had a dream about a stag fighting a mountain and then news spreads of Selene Baratheon fighting Gregor Clegane. Don't pretend to be a stupid man, you deny your gifts. Why?"

"Because I believe my father had the same curse." He snapped. "My mother wrote to my uncles about how my father often had these dreams and considering his obsession with prophecy I believe my 'gift' as you call it came from him. My father got my mother killed, my sister killed, possibly because of the very dreams I now have, and you ask me why I deny them?" Arron asked with a bitter laugh.

"Your father got most of your family killed because of his gifts, but you Arron can save them with it. Remember that." Kinvara advised him. "And one last piece of advise before you leave Aegon Targaryen, your power comes from water as much as fire, descendent of Nymeria, remember that." She told him cryptically to his confusion as he then turned and left without another word.  
Kinvara watched with a small amount of disappointment. "Well that could have gone better." She admitted to Thoros.

"I don't understand your interest in the boy. You yourself said that he wasn't Azor Ahai." Thoros said in confusion, still not understanding why Kinvara was so interested in the boy.

"Azor Ahai didn't fight back the darkness alone, and neither can Selene Baratheon. That was your vision wasn't it, Westeros covered in ice with her fighting the Night King?" Kinvara stated. "Aegon Targaryen may not be the prince that was promised but he still has an important role to play in the wars to come. Vital even." She added. "What will you do now?" She asked Thoros curiously.

"It's time I returned to Westeros, and I will aid Azor Ahai in whatever way that I can." Thoros answered. He didn't know why he had been gifted his vision, but he knew its purpose and what his role in the fight to come will be. "What about you?"

"I will meet Selene and see who she is for myself." Kinvara replied.

 **Line Break**

Selene and Marwyn were both taking the opportunity to compare notes for a lack of better explanation regarding their knowledge of magic, as Selene removed a book from a fade draw located in her desk. "This is my grimoire." She told Marwyn as handed him the book which he took sagely. "It contains a brief description of all forms of magic I know as well as various spells." She explained to him.

It was a very thick book Marwyn noted, with a thick cover and a latch on it to keep it closed. There was no writing on it but their was a very detailed rune on the front cover. Marwyn was very knowledgeable on all forms of runes and hieroglyphs, yet he hadn't the faintest idea. "It's a blood rune." Selene explained. "It means only I can open that book." Selene took the book back and placed her hand over the rune causing the latch to release, and she handed the book back to Marwyn.

When Hayley had realised that Trelawney was only ever going to waste her time predicting her death in divination lessons she had dropped the subject and took Ancient Runes instead and her specialty was Norse runes. Say what you will about the Vikings but their mastery over runic magic was some of the most advanced in her previous life.

While Marwyn busied himself with reading through her spellbook Selene focused her attention on Visenya Targaryen's book, finding one of the very first spells in it being able to summon a small lick of flame, which she guessed was the very spell Marwyn had used to prove he had magic.

" **Flame."** Selene cast in High Valyrian and a moment later a small flame appeared in her hand, drawing Marwyn's attention. The spell may have been one designed for beginners but as far as he knew the princess had never even studied Valyrian magic but she had still achieved the spell on her first go. Just how powerful was she?

Selene cancelled the spell a few moments later and she returned her attention back to the spellbook while Marwyn did the same, until he saw a section that caught his attention. "You can turn into an animal?"

"The animagus transformation? Yes I know how to do it." Selene answered. Granted she hadn't turned into her animal form in nearly a year but once you achieved the connection to your animal side it simply wasn't something you could forget, it was forever a part of you.

"Would you mind showing me?" He requested feeling a sense of giddiness come over him. He had believed he had known all forms of magic but to turn into an animal, the possibility had never crossed his mind, had likely never crossed anyone's mind.

"Of course not." Selene answered with a smile as she stood and walked to the centre of the room, she needed space to be able to transform. One second Selene stood in the middle of the room and the second she morphed into her animal form and in her place a large white doe appeared

Marwyn had seen a lot of things in his life that ranged from mildly surprising, to world ending shock however seeing someone turn into an animal easily made the short list. He looked on in awe at the white doe in front of him. He had never had much regard to towards animals in terms of a scientific interest but he couldn't help but be intrigued by a deer that had white fur. "I have to admit princess you are a very beautiful doe." Marwyn confessed causing her to tilt her head at the praise while had slowly walked around her and assessed what he saw.

Her size and shape was average for that of a doe and the powerful legs were a clear indication of how fast she was capable of running. Interestingly her eyes were the same piercing blue in her animal form. Another interesting factor was that a small patch of fur on her forehead was slightly darker, being closer to grey then white appeared in the shape of a lightning bolt of all things. If there was any significance to this Marwyn didn't know it.

"Can you understand me in that form?" He asked her and in response Marwyn learnt what a glare from a doe looked like and he guessed that answered the question. "Could you change back please?" He asked and a moment later the princess was once again standing in front of him. "How come nothing happens to your clothes?"

"When I turn my magic views my clothes as part of my body and so gets changed along with the rest of me into an animal and when I change back my clothes get restored." She explained.

"And that's what you call an animagus transformation correct?" Marwyn asked, looking as giddy as a kid who was told they could have all the sweets they wanted.

"Animagus yes." Selene answered him as she stared at the old maester who scribbled down what she said onto a piece of parchment.

"Transfiguration. Simply extraordinary." Marwyn muttered to himself. As an archmaester he had studied many different sciences over the years but magic would always be his true passion. "How difficult is it to become an animagus?"

"It takes roughly six to eighteen months to become an animagus on average. It is difficult but once you've mastered the transformation it's as easily as breathing." Selene answered. She wasn't worried about revealing any information, she'd already ensured that they were alone and she was always in a good mood after transforming into her animal form. "But transfiguration is one of the most complex branches of magic, requiring intense concentration and no small amount of power." Truthfully Selene was lucky she had mastered the animagus transformation in her last life otherwise it was doubtful she'd be able to have mastered it this life. She was also lucky that death hadn't changed her animal form, because without the potion ingredients necessary to make the animagus revelation potion it would have been impossible to find out what her form was.

"Are there any benefits to becoming an animagus? Any changes to your physical body or personality?" Marwyn inquired.

"Not so much personality changes but you can pick up some animal characteristics. It's hard to explain because every animal is different and the experience always ranges from person to person." Selene tried explaining.

"Could you give an example?"

"My diet." Selene answered causing Marwyn to raise an eyebrow in question. "Have you ever seen me eat any meat Grandmaester?" Marwyn felt confused by the question, before he realised what she meant, deer's aren't carnivores, although there had been a small number of cases in which they did eat meat. And though he hadn't had many meals with the princess now that he thought about it he had never actually seen her eating meat of any kind.

"So your vegetarian?" He asked

"Not exactly, it's more of a rare delicacy that I can't eat very often but I can still eat meat, just not very often because the animal part of me doesn't like it." Selene tried explained, she knew some types of deer did indeed eat meat, but she wasn't sure what subspecies of deer she was, but she could eat meat, just not very often. "Its complicated I know. As for physical changes I'm perhaps more agile with better reflexes but it's hard to tell how much is from my animal form." She told him.

"So I've answered one of your questions, you can answer one of mine. What can you tell me about this mark?" Selene questioned as she raised up her hand, showing the mark of the Deathly Hallows on the back of it.

Marwyn took a moment to shuffle through a series of parchments and scrolls he had brought with him before he answered. "The mark itself appears in nearly every culture and continent. Here," Marwyn answered handing over a parchment that looked ancient and Selene was very careful handling it and she laid it out before her.

Selene looked over the parchment which was covered in hieroglyphics that she had no understanding of. The only one she recognised was the mark of the Hallows. "What language is this?"

"I don't know it's official name but it was used by the Dawn Empire." Selene's eyebrows shot up in surprise at that. The Dawn Empire, a civilisation surrounded in myths and legends that made Valyria seem tame in comparison. Practically nothing was known about the civilisation that predated both Valyria and the Ghiscari Empire. The Empire of Yi Ti claimed to be the heirs of the Dawn Empire but was never able to prove it and it was also theorised by some maesters that the First Men had been members of the Dawn Empire.

She wondered if Azor Ahai had been a member of the Dawn Empire, he certainly would have lived in that time period. "Can you translate it?"

"I only have a rough translation, but I do believe it states, 'death is only the beginning.'" _'Well that certainly isn't ominous,'_ Selene thought to herself resisting the urge to snort. "It also speaks of a weapon of great power, but it fails to specify what it is." She didn't need to look at Marwyn to know he was glancing it Lightbringer. Further evidence perhaps that Azor Ahai had been from the Dawn Empire if it was referring to Lightbringer.

"And what about the other Hallows?" Selene questioned, while Marwyn gave a sigh in response.

"To be perfectly honest princess there is no record of an invisibility cloak or a resurrection stone anywhere in the records." Marwyn replied and Selene let out her own sigh of disappointment.

"Disappointing but not too surprising." Selene muttered. "So you have no idea where they could be." She stated which only caused the man to smirk.

"I did not say that." He replied with a smirk as he shuffled through the pile of parchments he had brought and handed her more then a dozen pieces.

"These are wills, from the Durrandon family." She spoke as she looked through the them, the first looking over a thousand years old, while the last was written by King Arlan V with his son King Argilac the Arrogant as the main benefactor.

"If you look through the wills you'll see they all mention a single item, a stone of importance. None of the wills specify what it is but it could be…"

"The resurrection stone, it's in Storm's End." Selene interrupted him. Looks like she'll have to make a visit to capital of the Stormlands soon.

"It might be, but after three hundred years it hasn't been seen at all, not to mention not a single Baratheon will mentions any such item or stone to be passed on. It's entirely possible that it was stolen when Argella was betrayed by her garrison to Orys Baratheon, if so then the odds of it still being in Storm's End are slim." Marwyn reasoned.

"Still it's better than nothing." She replied. "Any ideas about the invisibility cloak?" She asked him.

"Well since both Durran Godsgrief and Brandon the Builder were the sons of Azor Ahai, the odds are that if he gave Durran the resurrection stone then Brandon was given the invisibility cloak. But it has the same problem with the resurrection stone. It might be in Winterfell but after thousands of years it's entirely possible that it's somewhere else and lost to history."

"Still it's better then nothing and both Storm's End and Winterfell are some of the oldest castles in history with many secrets in their walls. Just because no one has seen them doesn't mean that they aren't there." Selene replied, her good mood picking up again. Both Winterfell and Storm's End were ancient and even Selene didn't know all of the secrets of those two ancient fortresses.

"So you wish to learn more about transfiguration?" She asked and Marwyn nodded eagerly in response, jotting down notes as she began explaining the principles of transfiguration, conjuration and illusions. After so long it was refreshing to finally be able to talk to someone about her magic.

 **Line Break**

Selene was travelling through the city with a small retinue, her goal not particularly important but something she felt she needed to do. The fact that it would keep her out of the Red Keep for a few hours was simply added bonus. The tensions in the royal court was worse than ever after what had happened to Joffrey, with court rife with rumours about what had happened to him, the most prevailent being that she had tried to kill her brother and that it was only a 'miracle' that he was still alive.

The fact that Joffrey had sneaked into her room and tried to steel Lightbringer and simply suffered the results of his own stupidity never crossed the minds of those vipers in the court, not that she expected it to. One thing she had learnt as Hayley, when the masses get an idea in their head, no matter how ridiculous or impossible then convincing them otherwise was simply not worth the effort, and that it was easier to simply ignores the rumours and wait for them to pass.

But still despite the ever present rumours surrounding her the last week had been very beneficial in her mind. Marwyn was a literal treasure trove of knowledge on magic in Westeros and she had formed a close friendship with the eccentric old man. He had even suggested a few interesting ideas to help her channel her magic. Turns out that while there was no records of wands, according to Marwyn's records the Valyrian dragonlords had crafted focuses in the form of rings and staffs in order to help them wield their magic. Granted most objects had more then likely been destroyed in the Doom of Valyria but still it gave Selene hope that she would be able to craft herself a wand.

Selene had actually attempted to craft herself a wand when she was thirteen, using a piece of holly wood from the Rainwood and a dragon fang from one of the many skulls in the Red Keep. Her attempt had been a complete failure and had even caused a small explosion that had been very difficult to explain and Selene was lucky that she hadn't gotten herself killed. Her attempts at repairing her holly and phoenix wand in her last life should have taught her not to meddle in such stupidity but after thirteen years of struggling to wield her magic properly she had gotten impatient and had cast aside all caution.

When she was Haley Potter she had studied many branches of magic but wandcrafting wasn't one of them, however if she could discover the secrets the Valyrians had used, hopefully from Visenya Targaryen's grimoire then she could craft herself a wand. While her ability to wield magic had improved since she had discovered Lightbringer, it wasn't the same was wielding a proper wand. If Selene was to estimate it then Lightbringer allowed her to wield roughly half of her magical core accurately, a massive improvement pre her discovery of the ancient weapon but still far from ideal.

"Tobho Mott," Ser Barristan stated, when they reached their destination. "The greatest smith in all of King's Landing, and also the most expensive. Me and my fellow Kingsguard often come to him for our armour and weapons."

"Shop looks old." Selene stated as she took in the sight of it. "When did he arrive in King's Landing?" She asked curiously. Tobho Mott had been a smith in the capital since before she was born but the man was from Essos, Volantis if she believed correctly and she wondered what had brought him to Westeros.

"In the final years in the reign of King Aerys." Ser Barristan answered. "The Mad King had gone through a faze where he was obsessed with Valyrian steel and he brought Mott to Westeros because of his ability to re-forge it." Of course, there were rumours that it was Tywin who had persuaded Aerys to bring Mott to Westeros but that was neither here nor there.

The two of them entered the forge to find who she assumed was Tobho Mott in the process of hammering a sword. Selene and Ser Barristan waited for him to finish before he noticed their presence. "Your grace, Ser Selmy." He spoke with a thick accent as he bowed deeply. "What can I do for you?" He asked.

"I was wondering if you could examine Lightbringer." Selene stated. It had occurred that it would probably be a good idea for a smith to at least look over the weapon and since the man in front of her was by far the best smith in the city there was no other alternative.

She could see caution in his eyes, word of what had happened when Joffrey had tried to hold the weapon had clearly spread, but she could also see curiosity and desire in his eyes as well, and in the end his desire won out as he accepted to help them. "Very well." He said and she handed him the sword still in its scabbard. Interestingly nothing happened, possibly because where Joffrey had tried to steal the sword, she had instead handed it to Mott? A possibly explanation.

"Exquisite." Tobho muttered as he withdrew the sword from its scabbard. "Truly exquisite."

Tobho then began getting the work on the sword, examining it and trying to identify what metal it was made out of. "Interesting." Tobho muttered in the process of his work. "I wonder. Gendry come here and assist me." He bellowed out for his apprentice.

When Gendry appeared in the main forge Selene blinked once and then twice in shock as she stared at Gendry. Black hair, blue eyes, strong large build, not to mention the absolute spitting image of her father when he was a teenager which she knew from a portrait of her father when he was only sixteen. Glancing at her companion she saw the look of surprise on his face as he looked at Gendry in surprise. Selene resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration, Mya Stone, Edric Storm, Jon Snow, just how many bastard brothers and sisters did she have?

"Yes master?" Gendry asked.

"Hold the sword steady while I examine it." Tobho ordered as he passed the sword to Gendry, which caused Selene's breath to catch in her throat and she began to yell a warning as she recalled what happened to Joffrey but nothing happened, no glow, no tremor of magic, in Gendry's hands Lightbringer was a sword nothing more or less.

While Gendry held her sword steady Tobho began examining the sword in depth, muttering to himself as he did so. "I wonder… princess may I borrow your Valyrian steel dagger?" He requested and she passed it to him, causing Ser Barristan to subconsciously take a step closer to her as she now, appeared, defenceless.

"Keep it steady Grendry." Tobho ordered as he held the dagger on the blade of Lightbringer and then began to push down and slowly slid the dagger up the length of the sword, greatly a loud screeching noise as it did so. "Extraordinary." He spoke with awe as she passed the dagger back to her.

Selene's eyes widened in surprise and Ser Barristan gasped in shock. "Impossible." The old knight muttered but the proof was there on the blade of her a dagger, a scratch almost unnoticeable in the Valyrian designs but a scratch, nonetheless.

"Indeed princess, your sword is stronger than even Valyrian steel. I'm afraid I can't tell you what type of metal it's made out of because I honestly have no idea but it the weapon appears to be in perfect condition. However, I will tell you that I have examined another sword like it, with the same properties."

"And what sword would that be?" Ser Barristan asked.

"The sword of your fallen comrade Arthur Dayne." Tobho answered.

"Dawn, Lightbringer is like Dawn." She stated.

"It is certainly similar, but I could be wrong, I am making a comparison between this sword and a sword I studied over twenty years ago. But if you wish for more information then you'll have to go to the Daynes princess."

"Thank you for your help." Selene spoke and Tobho and Gendry began getting back to work and Ser Barristan prepared to leave but Selene lingered, her eyes gazing at her half-brother. "It's Gendry, right?" She asked, starting the conversation.

"Yes, your grace."

"Is this your work?" She asked pointing at a very high-quality sword, but of a slightly lower quality then the rest of Tobho Mott's work, making her guess Gendry was the one who made it.

"It is your grace." Gendry answered with unmistakable pride in his voice.

"It's very good work." She complimented.

"Thank you." He spoke sounding a little uncomfortable and she understood why. Most nobles would sooner scorn a commoner then praise them; Gendry was simply not sure how to react to a noble actually treating him decently.

Selene thought about what to say next but realised she simply had no idea what to say. What did you say to your recently discovered half-brother, especially when said brother had no idea the two of you were even related? "Storm's End has been lacking a skilled smith since Donal Noye joined the Night's Watch, if you ever wish for a job come find me." She told him and then proceeded to leave the shop.

 **Line Break**

Selene looked over a map of the North, particularly the part of both the Gift and the New Gift, the later of which currently belonged to her after she'd purchased it from the Night's Watch. Despite the size of the land it was largely abandoned and practically worthless. Wildling raids were common and their simply wasn't enough men of the Night's Watch to keep up with them. But if the Wall fell then the Gift would be the next line of defence.

At the very least Selene needed to rebuild the ruined fortresses and keeps that were dotted around the New Gift, six in total with Queenscrown being the largest. Selene thought of the costs it would take to repair them and resisted the urge to wince at the thought. Yes she had access to the funds of Storm's End but she would rather leave those finances in tact rather than empty it, which left her with her personal wealth, which was rather limited. She could maybe repair one, possibly two of the keeps if she started with the smaller ones before her wealth ran out.

The Crown was still massively in dept so if she was going to repair the land and try to make something useful out of it then she would need assistance from several noble houses in Westeros in order to fund such a venture.

Selene pulled out several pieces of parchment and a quill and started writing to four noble and above all wealthy houses in Westeros who would hopefully be willing to finance such a venture, especially considering the rewards she was offering.

Royce, Swann, Blackwood, Tarly and the biggest risk of all Lefford of the Golden Tooth. Approaching the second most powerful house in the Westerlands would be a tremendous risk, but if she succeeded then Selene would have gained herself a powerful ally in the Westerlands.

 **Line Break**

If there was one thing he had learnt in his life it was that there was always a need for contingencies because things never went according to plan. For example a small raid on a merchant ship travelling from Volantis to Pentos, be prepared for some fool trying to stab him in the back. Which explains why the man in front of him was currently fastened to two large wooden beams crossed in an X shape.

"I will only ask this once, who hired you to kill me?" He questioned the brute in front of him. There was no way he was working alone, he was simply a dog answering a master's orders.

"May the Storm God take your accursed soul Crow's Eye." The prisoner spat at him, causing Euron Greyjoy to smirk.

"I was hoping you'd say that." He replied as he picked up a flaying knife and began working the prisoner's hand, his scream filling the brig of his ship while Euron hummed as he continued his work. The Boltons may have invented flaying but they were hardly the only ones to master the craft.

He had to give his prisoner some credit, he had a rather impressive pain tolerance, as despite his defening screams he refused to give up any of the names of any allies, or who had hired him. Euron stepped back as he finished flaying the skin off the man's left hand, giving the man a moment of respite before the torture continued.

The man had stopped screaming by now and was content to simply weep and likely regret every decision he ever made as he sobbed in front of Euron. Euron gave a sinister smirk as he held the flaying towards the man's right hand and began peeling the skin off his little finger. The man whimpered and moaned but still refused to give in and it wasn't until Euron started peeling the man's third finger that he finally broke.

"Stop." The man begged, incapable of withstanding any more pain.

Euron chuckled as he withdrew the blade from the man's hand and help the blood coated knife up to the man's face. "Now, who hired you?" He asked.

"Your brother." The man gasped out. The answer actually disappointed him honestly, Euron had enemies from Tywin Lannister in Casterly Rock to the God Emperor of Yi Ti and yet it was his oaf of a brother who had tried to kill him.

"Balon?" Euron asked wishing for confirmation. While his brother certainly wouldn't hesitate to order him killed, there had never been any form of brotherly relationship between the two, assassins weren't normally Balon's style. He was the kind of fool who would want to kill someone face to face.

"No. Damphair."

The response actually caused him to pause in surprise before Euron bursts out into laughter. He's normally more composed then that but he couldn't help it, it seemed his idiotic younger brother has finally grown a spine. "So what caused Damphair to try and kill me?"

"He believes your responsible for Victarion's death. Said there was no way he could have been killed by a mere boy and that you were behind it."

Euron rolled his remaining eye as he struggled to comprehend his brother's logic. Aeron had never been the smartest man but clearly the years had taken what little wits he possessed. Not that any of his other brothers were any smarter then Aeron and not for the first time Euron wondered if his mother had an affair and he was the bastard of some nameless old fuck. It would certainly explain the difference in intellect between himself and his brothers.

As well as other differences between them.

Of course this also meant a big issue about what to do with Aeron. Brother or not Euron was not going to let that pious fool have a second chance to take his life. Not to mention the Iron Islands, while not vital to his plans did play an important role and the last thing he needed was Aeron in a position of power to undermine him.

"So you going to kill me?" The man asked.

Euron chuckled in response. "No I'm not going to kill you." He told him causing the man to look at him in confusion. In response he lifted up his eyepatch.

The horrified screams were music to his ears before they were replaced by a blissful silence.

Euron exited the brig of his ship and ascended towards the deck of the ship. "Change our course, we're heading for Westeros." He told his first mate.

 **Line Break**

Selene closed Visenya Targaryen's grimoire, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and contemplations. Queen Visenya had certainly been more then a 'mere dabbler' in the magical arts. From one grimoire alone it was clear that the deceased Targaryens knowledge was easily superior to most witches and wizards Selene knew in her previous life.

Selene rubbed her eyes tiredly, her thoughts scattered as she contemplated everything she had read and the impacts it could have. The book wasn't merely Visenya's grimoire but also served as a diary of sorts for the deceased queen. As well as the methods of teaching magic she had used for Maegor and Aenys Targaryen. Many maesters had studied the relationship between Aenys and Visenya and many concluded that they Visenya had only ever tolerated Aenys and thought him unworthy of the Iron Throne.

It was certainly surprising reading about Visenya praising the boy that many would believe she later killed so Maegor could become king, for his love of magic. From what Selene could tell Maegor had only ever saw magic as a tool of war and death, Aenys by contrast had possessed a true passion for magic and all its wonders, a passion Visenya had shared.

But regardless of the true nature of the relationship between Visenya and Aenys Targaryen Selene now had undisputable proof that not only had the Targaryen conquerers indeed possessed magic but they had passed the knowledge onto the next generations of their family, and Selene imagined that Aenys Targaryen had taught magic to his own children, which left the biggest question; how did the Targaryens lose their magic. It was possible that generations of inbreeding had turned them into squibs, or that when all the adult Targaryens during the Dance were killed the younger generations of the Targaryens had forgotten their abilities.

Magic had once been a mighty force in the world, unfortunately it had died out in this world, the when and where was debatable but it had started with the Andal invasion. The Andals hadn't just killed the Children of the Forest but had also targeted anyone who was thought to possess 'demonic' powers. Witch burning were far from unique to her first life, the Faith Militant had been very eager to burn those they had deemed as heretics. But regardless the Faith Militant was disbanded and the influence the Church wielded had been on the decline ever since the reign of Jaehaerys I. So why had the decline of magic's biggest opposition not lead to its renewal?

The question had never bothered Selene much but now that she knew the truth it honestly terrified her.

The Order of the Maesters were a much bigger danger then Selene ever could have imagined and she now understood what Marwyn had been trying to tell her without actually doing so for fear of them being discovered, spies were everywhere in the capital after all and she had no doubt that those 'grey rats' as some referred to them had their own in the capital.

Selene had honestly never given the maesters much thought, an academic order of intellectuals who she had seen as a group of wise learners and therefore she had never seen the need to regard them with suspicion. Now however, now she was wondering if the maesters knew she had magic and were planning on using the same measures they had used against the Targaryens on her.

Selene had been receiving messages from the Citadel ever since she had first revealed Lightbringer in her fight with Clegane, requesting to see Lightbringer and well as all but demanding to know where she had found the sword. At first she had simply thought that it was intellectual curiosity and that they simply wanted to study her sword in order to compare it to the ancient legends of Lightbringer, but now… now she wasn't so sure.

She needed more information on the maesters, and she couldn't afford to wait.

Selene looked up when she saw Ser Arys enter her chambers with a stack of letters in his hands. "More betrothal requests?" She asked not even exasperated anymore, just tired. She had bigger concerns to worry about then dealing with all those letters.

"Unfortunately it's something that you have to put up with." Ser Arys answered with a small smirk as he dropped the stack right in front of her.

"Tell me do you think if I sent a raven to every Lord in Westeros and told them to piss off they would leave me alone?" Selene asked with a small smile at the idea.

"It might, or it would make you seem unattainable and therefore cause them to double their efforts to gain your attention." He replied as he saw her start looking through all the letters though he doubted any of them would grab her attention. But he was still curious about her thoughts and he chose to stick around for the moment to see what she came up with. And after about ten minutes he saw her crumple the letter in her hands and through it in the fireplace. "Do you think if I had Walder Frey sent to the Wall Lord Tully would thank me?" Selene practically snarled with her expression completely livid.

 _'Oh she is pissed,'_ Ser Arys thought at the enraged expression on her face and he wondered what Lord Frey had written to have angered her so much, but he was too afraid to ask, because if there was one thing he had learnt as a Kingsguard it was that you didn't draw an angry Baratheons attention onto yourself, because they truly lived up the words of their house "Ours if the Fury." Robert Baratheon could switch from being jolly and joyful to a murderous rage in seconds depending on the motive, Stannis seemed to exist in a perpetual state of annoyance and anger, and Renly Baratheon, probably the least militant member of his family yet the young Oakheart could recall no less then three occasions where the Lord of Storm's End had well and truly lost his temper and they had not been occasions that he remembered fondly. Selene's temper was better controlled then her father and uncles but no less severe.

"I'm pretty sure half the Riverlords would thank you and the other half would sent you gifts in gratitude." He quipped in response earning half a chuckle in response. "What about the other offers?" He asked her after he saw she had calmed down a bit.

"Some are worth considering." Selene admitted.

"Do you have any in mind?" He asked her.

"I'm considering some offers but haven't decided on anything." Selene spoke but whoever she took for her consort it would hopefully be someone that she loved. However she knew that love might be a luxury she may not be able to afford. If she couldn't love whoever she took to be her consort then she wanted someone that she could, at the very least respect and care for. Otherwise she may well be having the same misfortune her father had with his marriages, in love with a woman who didn't love him back and married to another he despised.

Ser Arys waited for a moment to see if she added anything but when he saw that she wouldn't he decided to change the topic. "So what were you doing before I came in?" He asked her.

"Ser Arys, you are from the Reach so can I ask you a question?" He nodded at her words wondering where she was going with this. "What do you know about the maesters?"

 **Line Break**

"You're mad." Marwyn was the first to speak.

"I wouldn't say that." Brienne disagreed. "But what you are suggesting is more then slightly risky."

Marwyn couldn't resist snorting at that. "Risky, risky she says. What you are proposing is walking into enemy territory on the off chance that you might, not will, but might find something useful."

"I am surrounded by enemies." Selene growled, her temper flaring slightly. "More then you realise and now you tell me these maesters are another enemy yet you object to me carrying out a fact finding mission. Arys, what do you think?" She asked turning to the third and final member of their little group who looked deep in thought.

"As a knight of the Reach a part of me hates this plan." He was a member of a very prominent Reach house after all. "But if what the grandmaester says about the maesters is true then we really cannot afford to simply take chances. It's risky yes, but it could arguably be worth it."

"Very well." Marwyn admitted seeing as he was the lone objector to the princess's proposal. "But how are you going to get into Oldtown, never mind the Citadel? The Hightowers are certainly no allies of yours."

"I don't need to get into Oldtown I just need to get into Highgarden."

"Ah." Ser Arys stated in realisation. "The Hightowers are the Tyrells strongest allies in the Reach, if you arrive in Oldtown while on your way to Highgarden, perhaps on a diplomatic mission from the crown then the Hightowers cannot afford to refuse you entry into Oldtown."

"The crown is heavily in dept to the Tyrells, more the enough to justify a journey to the Reach." Marwyn added thoughtfully.

"That will allow you to enter Oldtown, but what about the citadel?" Brienne asked. "All this planning is worthless if you can't get into the citadel.

"There is a small disused privy that's long been abandoned, the maesters have been meaning to block it off but have never gotten around to it, that should get you into the citadel." Marwyn proposed.

"Climbing through a privy." Selene stated, her mind flashing back to climbing through pipes in the Chamber of Secrets.

"I very much doubt you'll be able to simply walk though the front door." Marwyn stated with amusement. Climbing through a privy. Selene recalled her infiltration training with Jaqen which had certainly been unpleasant in a number of ways. Marwyns suggestion was a simple, and pardon the pun, dirty solution to the problem.

"But what about finding your way through the citadel. Do you have any maps with you?" Brienne asked Marwyn who nodded although he looked deep in thought as he considered a different solution.

"I do but I might have a better solution. There's an acolyte in Oldtown, Alleras who could guide through citadel." He proposed.

"And why would this Alleras be willing to help me?"

"Because Alleras is none other than Sarella Sand." He answered with a small amount of satisfaction at their stupefied looks.

"One of the Sand Snakes in the heart of the Reach." Arys half whispered in shock before he started bursting out in laughter causing the three of them to all look at him in surprise. "Sorry, it's just for all Mace Tyrell and the Queen of bitches consider themselves all knowing regarding everything in the Reach they have the daughter of someone they openly call an enemy of the Reach located in the domain of their strongest allies." Ser Arys' had become very bitter by the end of his tirade and Selene wasn't the only one to look at him in surprise. She had always known that Arys, for reasons he had never explained had a negative opinion of the Tyrells yet the way he was speaking showed their was much more then a simple dislike about it.

"I can get message to Sarella for you." Marwyn offered as they got back to the matter at hand to which she nodded. Sarella, Selene had found was unique amongst the Sand Snakes, as where her sisters always preferred using a blade she herself was much more of an intellectual, preferring learning to fighting, but that didn't mean she couldn't fight. Well Oberyn had said house Martell owed her a debt although she certainly hadn't expected to call it in so soon. "There is a vault in the lowest levels of the citadel, the answers you seek are most certainly hidden inside. It's locked by a set of keys, each one possessed by one of the arch maesters. You could either take the keys, or try to find another way to get through the door."

"That solves getting into the citadel, and assuming you remain undetected you should be able to exit the same way. But the biggest question is how are you going to remain unnoticed in the city. No doubt Lord Hightower is going to through a feast in celebration of your visit, how are you going to get the chance to escape their notices while you sneak into the citadel?" Ser Arys asked, after all none of this planning would be worthwhile if someone noticed she was missing and a search was arranged to try and find her.

"Just leave that to me." Selene smiled, her training by Jaqen had left her well equipped with infiltration and stealth, she was more then confident that she could resist the detection of the Hightower guards.

"But if we are going through with this plan then we'll need contingencies in case everything goes to shit." Brienne spoke and Selene couldn't have agreed more with her friend. And they did just that.

 **Line Break**

Daenerys smiled as she glanced out the window of the manse in Lys where she was currently staying with her brother Viserys. She didn't know how long they would be staying, their current host was hardly the nicest man who's company they had ever endured but she couldn't deny that she magister had an absolutely beautiful home and she would be sad to say goodbye to it.

Unfortunately she would have to say goodbye to it, just as she had with every other place she had stayed in her life. Daenerys had at one point lived in all of the Free Cities and she had to leave every single one of them for fear of the Usurpers assassins.

Off all the Free Cities Lys prided itself on being the most beautiful, something that Daenerys certainly believed to be true. The artistry, the layout, even the people, everything about the city was beautiful. As a pureblooded Valyrian Daenerys and her brother had always stood out but in Lys their silver hair and purple eyes were common. She liked that, especially when she decided to travel the city, she wasn't Daenerys Targaryen, exiled princess and sister of the rightful king of Westeros, she was simply Dany. Of course her brother was of a very different opinion.

"DANY." A voice bellowed pulling her out of her thoughts as she turned to face her brother Viserys Targaryen. "Did you not hear me?" He asked slowly as he stalked towards her causing her to freeze slightly.

"I-I'm sorry." She stuttered, hating herself for doing so but luckily her brother seemed more annoyed then angry, which was a good thing as she didn't have to worry about waking the dragon. In the past she never had to worry about waking the dragon, Viserys had always had a temper but she had never been the recipient of it, but that had changed over the last few years. Dany understood it after all, it was her fault their mother was dead. If it wasn't for her who knew different things would be if Rhaella Targaryen had survived.

"Anyway there's been news from Westeros." Her brother began, piquing her attention. Westeros, their 'home' but she could she really call a place she didn't even remember as home. To her home was with the house with the red door, with old but kind Ser Willam to care for them. But now that home was gone, and Ser Willam was dead.

"What's the news?" She asked.

"Gregor Clegane is dead." Her brother announced and Dany had to grab the railing next to her in shock. The Monster pet of Tywin Lannister, a man said to be over eight feet tall, a being who could cut a horse in half with a single swing of his sword, the beast who had cut a bloody path through the Iron Islands during the Greyjoy Rebellion and the man who had murdered her nephew Aegon, and then proceeded to rape her goodsister Elia Martell before killing her too. Who could have possibly brought down such a monster?

"The Baratheons." Viserys answered and Dany blushed as she realised she had asked that out loud, luckily her brother didn't seem to mind the question. "Particularly the Usurpers daughter."

"But why?" She asked and this time her brother sent her glare in response causing to flinch but Viserys did answers the question.

"You mean you don't know?" He asked her scornfully. "Of course you don't. The Usurper had removed his sons by the Lannister bitch from the line of succession and named his daughter as his heiress, the Lannisters in response sent to Mountain to kill her, only for her to kill the great beast herself." Selene Baratheon, a woman who unless Dany was mistaken was not even two years older then her and yet she had killed one of the most monstrous people in the world and despite herself she couldn't help but be curious about the Stag princess.

"Selene Baratheon, a person described as one of the most beautiful and fierce women in Westeros. Perhaps their is some hope for the Baratheons after all. And every king needs a queen." Her brother only whispered the last part but Daenerys looked at him shock. "Oh yes the Baratheons will all burn and their greatest member will birth the future of house Targaryen. Oh it will be glorious Dany." Her brother laughed as he proceeded to walk down the hallway, cackling as he did so. Daenerys didn't think she had ever heard such terrifying laughter in her life.

"Selene Baratheon." She muttered with a small amount of pity. Viserys frightened her and he was her brother, she had no idea what he would do to Selene if he got what he wanted but would not be pleasant. "I hope you get a better fate then the one my brother wishes for you." Daenerys looked back outside to the balcony from her room but unlike before she just couldn't let the beautiful view of the city distract her. Her mind was too occupied, and the city just didn't garner her attention in that moment.

The daughter of the Usurper had piqued her interest and now she wanted to know more.

 **Line Break**

Selene looked towards Oldtown in the distance as her ship approached the city. As the name implied Oldtown was the oldest city in Westeros with the Hightowers being an ancient house of the First Men and as the centuries went by the small holdfast of the Hightowers grew into the one of the largest and richest cities of the known world. Almost as large as King's Landing but with a population of approximately 300,000 people. And it was a much cleaner city, and while it wasn't completely odourless it didn't carry an infamous stink in the same way that King's Landing did.

"It's beautiful." A voice behind her caught her attention. Turning around she saw her half brother Jon staring at Oldtown in awe. Awe that she could understand, Jon had only seen three cities in his life and Oldtown was much more impressive then either King's Landing or White Harbour. White Harbour was tiny in comparison and didn't carry the infamous stench of the capital.

Honestly Selene did not want Jon with her, she had no idea what she could expect from Oldtown but the dangers still existed. Unfortunately since Ser Arys was coming and Jon was his squire. Jon had been given a quick summery about their reasons for travelling to Oldtown but rather then deter him it had only encouraged him to help in whatever ways that he could. Stubborn and honourable fool.

"Oldtown as the name implies is old, and it has adapted over the centuries, making the most advanced city in Westeros." Selene explained to her brother, although he was unaware of that fact. She wasn't sure whether or not she should tell Jon about his parentage, it was a decision she had been wrestling with for a while now. Was it even her place to tell Jon, or that of her uncle Ned? Or was Jon better believing he was the bastard of Ned Stark rather then the love child or Rhaegar and her mother. Ignorance was bliss as the age old saying went. But as Hayley she had _hated_ how people had kept secrets from her.

"You know I told you this could be dangerous." She told him.

"And I told you that I didn't care. I just want to be able to help you any way that I can." Jon replied.

"But why?" Selene asked. Truthfully she found his loyalty to her very flattering but that didn't change the fact that she didn't get why Jon was purposely putting his life in danger.

"Do you remember the first time you came to Winterfell?" Jon instead asked causing her to look at him in confusion as she nodded. "It was at the welcoming feast for your arrival, you were sitting at the high table, while I was sitting in the back of the great hall where I was kept out of sight." Now that Jon brought it up she did remember it, and what she did.

"Not long after the feast started you asked my father where I was, asking why I wasn't at the feast with my family." Jon continued with a chuckle and Selene let out a small laugh of her own as she recalled what happened. The great hall of Winterfell went completely silent, her uncle was embarrassed while her aunt had looked like she had swallowed a lemon and had all but snapped saying that it wasn't a bastard's place to sit up at the high table. "And in front of the entire hall you left the high table then joined me at the back with the commoners."

"I said that you were as much my family as any other Stark." Selene spoke as she remembered her words. Catelyn had not been happy at her words but Ned, while embarrassed had also been pleased. Looking back he was probably happy about her building a relationship with her brother.

"The reason I'm here to help you Selene is because you chose to help me. I was but a bastard and you were a noble princess who had no business interacting with someone like me."

"You were my family." Selene countered.

"Many would disagree. Even in the North bastards are viewed as nothing more then a stain on their families honour yet that never bothered you. You always treated me fairly and kindly, never looking down on me for my station as others have. You have always showed me kindness and loyalty Selene, and that's why I'm here, so I can repay that in any way that I can." Jon told her passionately and she was truly touched by his words, and in that moment she came to a decision about her dilemma.

"Jon, there's something I need to tell you." She sold him sagely. "About your mother."

 **Line Break**

It was nightfall when Selene snuck out of the Hightower. Dressed in dark clothes allowing her to blend easily in the night. She had chosen against taking Lightbringer with her leaving the sword in Ser Arys possession, for this mission she needed speed and stealth the sword would only slow her down, even if her ability to use magic was massively improved while she sword was in her presence.

Selene snuck throughout the city, remaining completely unseen, her training with Jaqen shining through as she avoided the detection of the city watch, drunkards and the unsavoury elements of Oldtown as she made her way to the sewer system near the base of the citadel.

It wasn't hard to find the privy hole that lead to a small stream which lead into the sea. Although from the atrocious smell coming from it she doubted Marwyn's claims about being as abandoned as he had said. "Well here goes nothing." She muttered as she began to climb through the hole in thr foundations of the citadel

After what felt like an hour of climbing through one of the most disgusting locations Selene's had ever had the misfortune of seeing she finally reached the exit to the privy chamber, a cheerful voice greeting as she reached her destination.

"Well hello princess, this is certainly seen a sight I never thought I would see. If those uptight nobles of the court could see you now, tut, what a scandalous sight." Sarella Sand spoke with an absolutely massive smirk, offering no assistance as she pulled out of the hole.

"Many of those nobles already consider me a scandalous tart." Selene defended as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She was never, ever forgiving Marwyn for offering her this solution.

"Mmm, that is true." Sarella agreed. "Though we can both agree that you will need to bathe when this is done." She spoke, crinkling her nose in disgust as she did so. Selene just rolled her eyes, although she couldn't disagree with what was quite possibly the most intelligent of the Sand Snakes.

"Have you done what Marwyn asked?" She asked getting straight to business to which Sarella nodded.

"I was on kitchen duty today. I've placed powerful sleeping mixtures in all of the archmaesters food and drinks. They'll be out cold while we get the keys."

"Then lets go." She spoke as the two of them began walking to the corridor which all the archmaesters resided.

"Well that makes things easier." She remarked about the fact all the archmaesters slept in the same place.

"Indeed. Lets get going." Sarella whispered. "Now lets get a move on." She spoke opening the first door, as they located the key to the vault on a small bedside table.

After the fourth archmaester they entered the fifth room when Selene saw something that surprised. "Since when has Pycelle been an archmaester?"

"When Marwyn became the new Grand Maester he took his place as an archmaester." Sarella answered and Selene went to collect the key that she saw was around Pycelle's neck on a chain while Sarella went over to a small table in the corner covered in various vials.

Selene slowly lifted the key off of Pycelle's neck, careful not to wake him when she Sarella hunched over the table in the corner. "What are you doing?" Selene whispered.

"Nothing." Sarella answered back calmly, having finished what she was doing anyway.

"Well let's get a move on." She stated and they continued their mission until they possessed all the archmaester keys, and then began the descent to the base of the citadel.

Selene and Sarella stood before the massive door that would lead to the vault of the maesters hidden secrets. Massive did not begin to describe it, it was absolutely enormous standing at fifteen feet tall and made out of complete stone with an intricate designs on it, with an extremely complex locking mechanism on it, requiring a key possessed by each of the archmaesters to open it.

"Are you ready?" Sarella asked her.

"The reason I'm in Oldtown in the first place is to find out what's behind that door." Selene answered as she walked up to the door with the first key in her hands as she placed it into the lock before moving onto the next one.

Selene turned the final key, unlocking the door, causing it unlocking mechanism to open it on its own.

 **End of chapter 12. Please review.**

 **Also a couple of views brought up that it would only unnecessarily and pointlessly delay this story for Selene to try and search for the Hallows, well all I'm saying in response is that I always intended for the Hallows to be in this story and for Selene to search for them, so everything is going according to plan and the plot is not being in any way delayed.**

 **I'm expecting a lot of backlash and negative reviews with Selene saving Joffrey but keep in mind that while Selene acknowledges her brother is a bad person she does still view him as a brother and deep down she hopes he can change and become a better person. It's a bit like how the TV show Merlin in season 3, Merlin saved Morgana despite her having become evil at that point. Knows their bad but still hopes they can change. Also keeping him alive allows him to become the sadistic little shit that in a way will secure Selene's reign because she will be seen as the better alternative. And yes Selene will certainly end up regretting her decision.**

 **Also have to say trying to write Viserys from Daenerys point of view is much harder then I thought it would be.**

 **Pairing will be Aegon/Selene/Daenerys which was my preference. Probably be the hardest to pull off but I look forward to trying.**


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